Pastured Eggs

We sell our eggs in the St. Louis area on a monthly basis.  We also provide them to the local community here in Farmington.

Our laying hens are provided with sunlight, natural grasses, bugs and a clean living space.  We purpose to avoid any chemically formulated vitamins or minerals since they break down readily in hot weather and are harder for the chickens to assimilate than those vitamins that are from natural sources.

Our chicken tractors or, “Egg-mobiles” as we sometimes call them, follow where goats previously roamed, mimicking nature much like the egrets on a  rhinos’ nose. The laying hens scratch through the manure, eat out the fly larvae, scatter the nutrients into the soil, and give lots of eggs as a byproduct of pasture sanitation.

As of 2015, we have upgraded our chicken "egg-mobiles" to allow for maximum access to fresh pasture!

Our laying hens have plenty of space for eating bugs and scratching through their fresh salad bar!

The inside of the egg-mobiles is used by the hens as sleeping quarters, a snack bar and place to lay eggs.  The automatic "chicken door" you see in the back, closes at night for their safety and opens again at daybreak.

 

 

The ration we are using is all organic and NON-GMO.  The balance we are always working towards is this:

• 49.7% organic, non-GMO corn - for carbohydrates
• 30.8% organic, non-GMO soybeans - for protein
• 10.9% oats - mainly for fiber
• 5.0% feed grade limestone - for calcium
• 3.0% Fertrell Nutri-Balancer (probiotic, vitamins and minerals)
• 0.5% Thorvin brand kelp meal - We use kelp meal grown in cold water and dried geothermally.
• 0.1% - Fasttrack probiotic - to promote digestion and boost the immune system.  This brand name product is produced by Conklin and they are said to have the highest percentage of Lactobaccillus acidophilus, without the fillers found in other brands of probiotics.



One of our hens using the "chicken door" to exit the egg mobile and head
out to pasture.

 

Our hens forage for an increasing percentage of their own food, but we fill the gaps with the above mixtures from local sources, as well as organic vegetable scraps from our own kitchen.

Current price for our eggs is $4.50/dozen.  A nutritional bargain.

MORE INFORMATION ABOUT OUR EGGS and FAQs

Our prices are much lower than can be found anywhere in the country for truly pasture raised chickens on all organic feed.  Typical prices for these types of eggs run anywhere from $5.50doz to over $7.00/doz.

Why are our eggs more expensive than typical grocery store eggs?

In short, because it takes a lot more resources to give hens a more natural and healthy life.  

It also takes significantly more labor to pasture chickens than it does to keep them in warehouses with automated climate control, egg collection, feeding & watering systems.  Our chickens live in mobile coops on fresh pasture from spring through fall.  Every day we move  them, usually 2-3 times each day.  We also have to maintain the pasture.  Because they’re on pasture, the eggs have to be hand collected each day and cleaned by hand.  In addition we feed our hens certified organic feed, which is almost three times as expensive as the conventional feed.  All in all, once you include building and maintaining the coops themselves, the cost of the baby chicks, the expense of hoses, feeders, and waterers which all deteriorate faster in the sun… well, if we were just looking at the numbers we wouldn’t be doing this.  We’re doing this because we feel it is the right thing to do!

We continue to look into other ways of providing good feed for our chickens.  We’ve considered everything from buying individual ingredients and mixing the grains ourselves, to ordering from a non-certified (but trust worthy) farmer who is several hours north of us.  For now, it seems the most cost-effective way for us to provide healthy feed is to use our local feed store which is kind enough to special order organic feed for us monthly.  We will always be seeking ways to bring our costs down.

So, why raise chickens this way if it takes so much more work?

Because it is part of what we feel called to do.  Our eggs are completely different than grocery store eggs.  Including the $7.00/doz type you see in the specialty stores.  And they are also completely different than most of the farmers around us who are raising pastured hens, but with conventional feed rather than organic/non-GMO feed.  Not only do our eggs taste better with their incredibly bright orange yolks, they’re better for your health. 

Eggs produced by chickens that live more normal chicken lives (foraging on bugs, worms, and greens) are more nutritious.  A recent study of 4 free-range flocks done by Mother Earth News, revealed that compared to supermarket eggs from hens raised in cages, pasture raised eggs contained half as much cholesterol, were up to twice as rich in vitamin E, were two to six times richer in beta carotene (a form of vitamin A) and had an average of 4-6 times more essential omega-3 fatty acids (vital for optimal heart and brain function).

In addition our chickens are an integral part of our farm management plan.  By allowing them to forage not only do they help us with insect control, but they add fertilizer to the soil on which we will grow hay and produce on a rotational basis.

An above-freezing winter day means the chickens can come out
of the greenhouse and roam -
within the safety of poultry netting to keep out predators.

Our eggs require more labor, but there are great benefits.  The animals are treated very well and our farming system made more sustainable.  In addition, the resulting product is more nutritious and tastes better. See here for more info

 

 

 

 

 

 

How much would you pay for a large soda?  or a donut?  These foods are empty calories & cost just cents to produce…

Considering the labor, feed, and time that goes into its production, an egg is a nutritional bargain.  We are so conditioned in this country to buying cheap eggs that it can be shocking to be faced with higher prices at the local farmers’ market, but conversely many folks rarely question spending, say $4.50 on a morning pastry at the market or a specialty drink at Starbucks. …And unfortunately, cheap eggs come at a price for the hens producing them and an even bigger price to the health of our families. 
 

I was a person who used to want cheap eggs.  Then I decided to pay a "little extra" for cage-free eggs at the grocery store, thinking I was getting a superior product.  But when I looked into the true meaning of that label, I found out I still wasn't getting what I thought I was!  (See more information here)

About our flocks:

We have two flocks of about 54 hens, Buff Orpingtons and Golden Comets, and we plan to increase our flocks with heritage breeds like Rhode Island Reds and White Leghorns.  Our hens are more than free-range, they graze on a nutritious pasture of clover, alfalfa, and other grasses.  Each day summer through fall, they are moved to new forage.  During winter months, they are in a large, well-ventilated greenhouse in which they have room to roam and fly.  They are able to come out to free range when weather permits.

Inside our 50 foot greenhouse. 
Winter home for our flocks

We supplement our pasture with locally purchased organic feed, crushed oyster shells (for calcium), and organic veggie scraps. We currently purchase our feed from this company: Natures Grown Organics

Our operation goes beyond what “free-range” means.

Labeling like  “Free-Range”, “vegetarian fed”, and “humane” can be misleading and confusing.  Although there are differences between these categories, they generally all refer to operations of 1,000 hens or more in large warehouses under artificial light or in some cases no light at all.  These hens eat a grain based diet of primarily GMO corn and soy. 

 “Cage Free” simply means that within these warehouses they aren’t in cages. 

“Free-Range” means they have access to an outdoor run, though birds that have grown up inside will rarely go out and there isn’t enough room for them all to be outside anyways. 

“Vegetarian fed” means they’re not being supplemented with meat scraps or other animal bi-product, a common industry practice.   Our hens are outside almost all the time (weather permitting), eat as much green grass and bugs as they want, and have a completely different life than a hen raise in a conventional setting.  And by the way, chickens are NOT vegetarians!

Healthy chickens = healthy eggs!

By purchasing our eggs, you are not only supporting a more healthy and sustainable way of raising laying hens, but you are also supporting a local start-up farmer in delivering real food raised the way God intended, with the result being a nutritional bargain.  Eggs raised from healthy chickens produce a power-pack of nutrition! Your food dollars translate directly into our livelihood.   We thank you for your decision to support a more sustainable and healthier way of raising animals and food.
 

Please contact us if you are interested in eggs!