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Originally Posted by Tobi
Eggs....there's another one. Absolutely....what's the harm in taking a couple of unfertilised eggs for your breakfast, from hens who are happy, cared for, live mostly outdoors, with good shelter and protection against predators? Now there are cases of hens becoming emotionally attached to their eggs, and then you have a 'broody hen'. They should be respected, and allowed to work out their attachment in their own time. It may be hormonal, but they still deserve respect. But many hens will dump their eggs which will go bad -so what's the harm in scooping some up? No harm.
But again -that's not the way the egg industry works either. Even "free range" eggs aren't always telling a good story about what happens to the hens. And certainly "Barn eggs" come from hens who have the most weird and sad life, usually of one year long only -then horrendous slaughter. And that's even before we get to caged hens and egg production! (do I need to spell that out?)
There is also a chicken farm just down my lane where barn eggs are produced, so I know what happens. Unmarked trucks -16 wheelers -come slowly down the lane in the dead of night when the barns are 'cleared'. I feel there is too much shame or something for them to come in the daytime, because they always come at 2-3am.
I always say a prayer for those animal souls because I know what happens to them. It is not just a quick death either.
And of course the baby male birds are put alive into grinders as they cannot produce eggs!
Okay, if you know someone who loves hens and keeps them on their land or garden and all is well then eating a few eggs (I feel) is no harm done. But commercial eggs have a terrible story behind them.
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I had a couple of rescued hens for about four years all together. Our friends who were moving into the city had two young hens left after the fox got the rest and didn't know what to do with them. They were young, hadn't even laid an egg yet when we got them. But once they started laying, except for when they were moulting, they laid an egg a day. They had all the laying pellets they could eat, fresh water daily, their own little hen house and when the sun was shining, they could go outside into their own yard (probably the size of the average persons back yard, where they could take dust baths, scratch in the dirt, eat bugs and all the weeds they thought might be tasty. They even used to get extra stuff from the garden. Chicken heaven!
But despite the fabulous life, they both died at about four years of age. No signs of sickness for either of them. But several months apart, they each suddenly faded out and after three days of not eating and no interest in life, they were gone. I think they were just burnt out from all the egg laying. It would be the equivalent possibly of a woman having her period every day I would think.
So home grown eggs, even when your chickens get the best treatment and loving, it's not a good deal for them. We've changed their bodies in a bad way.
And for those who are curious, no, I didn't eat the eggs. My dogs got them, the chickens got them and sometimes my husband who doesn't share the same philosophy would eat one now and again.