When you’re walking in the store doing your grocery shopping and you see all the different options for eggs, we understand why you might be overwhelmed. If you’re shopping during the busy time, everyone else seems to be breathing down your neck.
At that moment when you’re selecting a carton, we realize it’s too late to do research on why a carton costs the amount it does. So, we put together this post to help you better understand why eggs from OrgaNick Pastures are the best option.
First of all, let’s talk about the space we give chickens on our pasture-raised chicken farm. We are required to have 108 square feet of pasture for each of our layer hens. In reality, our hens have at least 300 square feet of pasture, which is roughly the size of a single car garage.
In contrast, our closest competition in branding are eggs from “free-range” chicken farms. A free-range chicken farm has to have at least two square feet of pasture for their chickens. Even cheaper than free-range is cage-free. Chickens on cage-free farms simply need to live their lives outside of cages -- ultimately, they end up living in wing-to-wing barns. But at least they aren’t in cages!
Secondly, let’s look at what our chickens are consuming. In the past, farms have made added supplements to feed to induce chickens to produce more eggs. We do not use any. Our chickens are eating grasses, bales of hay, worms and insects as well as organic feed and water provided in the barns.
Overall, the standards we hold ourselves to lead to a higher cost to produce eggs because our feed is of a higher quality and our hens have more space to live on. For some people, the elevated standard of life for the chickens is enough to warrant paying more.
Now, how does the way our hens are treated affect the eggs in your cartons? Well, because our chickens spend their time in the pastures eating grasses, insects and worms, they build a stronger immune system leading to healthier eggs. Eggs are rich in vitamins A, D, B12 and choline; eggs from pasture-raised chickens have a greater amount of vitamin D in them because of their time spent outside. So, our eggs are healthier than the other options.
The last piece of the puzzle to explain why purchasing our eggs is better than buying cheap eggs is their performance. Because of the freshness of our eggs and the strength of the yolks resulting from chickens living outside, our eggs perform better in baked goods and in omelettes. The strength of the yolk helps baked goods stand up more firmly and helps omelettes hold all those delicious add-ins.
(I can’t mention omelettes without mentioning frittatas and quiches which, unofficially, might be our eggs’ greatest contribution to the world.)
Thank you for buying eggs from OrgaNick Pastures. Thank you for making us Wisconsin’s Favorite Eggs.
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