[rant]Cage free eggs[rant]

Sac Arrow said:
I'm not taking sides here, but, reference? I would say the poster has some valid creds.
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I’ve been busted. What I posted is very accurate for all commercial birds I’m aware of. It might not be accurate for all breeds.
 
Kinda like the difference between bullets fired from ordinary hunting rifles and those "Scary Assault Rifles." Both do the same thing, but somehow, they are different.

Don't get me started on the whole "organic" fraud... :popcorn:
 
Everytime I hear the term ''cage free'' or ''free range'' this comes to mind....

 
I know this is an old thread....and I haven't been keeping up here....
but I'm surprised not to find any chicken eggs talk lately.....considering the price of eggs these days....I know there used to be an expert chicken egg guy here.....James Dean..??
Anything inside scoop on the chicken egg.....??
 
jime said:
I know this is an old thread....and I haven't been keeping up here....
but I'm surprised not to find any chicken eggs talk lately.....considering the price of eggs these days....I know there used to be an expert chicken egg guy here.....James Dean..??
Anything inside scoop on the chicken egg.....??
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This is one of my favorite NA threads of all time. I think of things I learned on it regularly. Hard to believe the last post was almost six years ago already!

@James_Dean still seems to be here, though hasn't posted in a couple years.
 
I’m sure all these rounds of bird flue are keeping him very busy. :-(
 
I strongly suspect that cage free are more exposed to wild birds than the ones inside buildings and fed prepared formula's.

A friend raises fertile eggs, and has a decontamination room entering his buildings, to assure that he does not introduce infectious material to his birds. An infection in his houses will result in their population of future chickens lost each day, as they lay an egg a day each.

Years ago, I would visit, and have a tour of the houses. Now, he will not chance that I picked up something walking on sidewalks or gassing up my car.
 
My 18 hens produced a whopping 2 eggs today. That's after producing 1 in the last 7 days. I might retire early if they keep this up!
I miss the insight and updates from this thread.
 
baboss said:
My 18 hens produced a whopping 2 eggs today. That's after producing 1 in the last 7 days. I might retire early if they keep this up!
I miss the insight and updates from this thread.
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Must be eggxasparating.
 
Look on the sunny side, you got >0 eggs.
 
Might you have a poaching neighbor?
 
I've heard this can happen when lesser hens stage a coop to unseat the alpha.
 
Serious question, does one need a rooster around to ensure the timely flow of eggs?
 
Bill said:
Serious question, does one need a rooster around to ensure the timely flow of eggs?
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No. Only need a rooster if you want the eggs to hatch to be new little chickens.
 
Checkout_my_Six said:
A rooster is not required...but, it does keep them happy. ;)
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I think my hens would be happier without the rooster (Jerry-they've all been named Jerry) chasing them around, grabbing their neck feathers while jumping on their back, and doing the needful. It's a scene man!
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They'd have more feathers on their backs if he wasn't around, barring any attacks from predators.
 
Bill said:
Serious question, does one need a rooster around to ensure the timely flow of eggs?
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No. However during winter when daylight hours dwindle they produce less or not at all.

Light exposure regulates their reproductive cycle. No light=no eggs.
 
baboss said:
My 18 hens produced a whopping 2 eggs today. That's after producing 1 in the last 7 days. I might retire early if they keep this up!
I miss the insight and updates from this thread
Click to expand...
Make sure you have a light in the coop/nesting box and put the light on a timer. 8 eggs each of the last 2 days from 12 hens for me
 
Racerx said:
Make sure you have a light in the coop/nesting box and put the light on a timer. 8 eggs each of the last 2 days from 12 hens for me
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Yep, they get plenty of light on the timer. They're just lazy free loaders! But really just under half of them are almost 5 years old and the rest 2+ years old. I'm just too lazy to turn them into dog food. Debating on whether or not to get some new chicks this spring but these suckers have survived better than previous batches so the coop is about as full as I like it. This is our 4th batch since 2016.
 
baboss said:
Yep, they get plenty of light on the timer. They're just lazy free loaders! But really just under half of them are almost 5 years old and the rest 2+ years old. I'm just too lazy to turn them into dog food. Debating on whether or not to get some new chicks this spring but these suckers have survived better than previous batches so the coop is about as full as I like it. This is our 4th batch since 2016.
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Ahh. Yeah, age has a lot to do with it. Or when they went through molt. Sometimes breed specific. White leghorns are prolific layers, but usually don't live that long or become unproductive sooner.
 
I dunno....not trying to stir anything up.....but I suspect fowl play...
I don't believe the bird virus thing is as bad as they've made it appear....I do believe this is an underhanded way to produce increased future profits....Prices will eventually come down....but never to where they started.....lower volume...permanent higher prices in our future....The things that we've learned in this thread....about how the business works...breeding...production...distribution....all of it....makes what we're dealing with today not all that likely to occur.....definitely not long term....Just sayin...
And then to add insult to injury...so to say.....the experts are obviously avoiding this conversation...
 
jime said:
I dunno....not trying to stir anything up.....but I suspect fowl play...
I don't believe the bird virus thing is as bad as they've made it appear....I do believe this is an underhanded way to produce increased future profits....Prices will eventually come down....but never to where they started.....lower volume...permanent higher prices in our future....The things that we've learned in this thread....about how the business works...breeding...production...distribution....all of it....makes what we're dealing with today not all that likely to occur.....definitely not long term....Just sayin...
And then to add insult to injury...so to say.....the experts are obviously avoiding this conversation...
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I my suburban area, a local hobby farmer had a nice thing going selling $7/doz eggs (and that was BEFORE the run-up, when supermarket eggs were $3/doz) to local BoBos (bourgeois bohemians). He abruptly shut down his stand and destroyed his flock because he says he had a case of A1. I can't imagine he'd go through that expense and forego that income stream unless it were necessary.
 
jime said:
I dunno....not trying to stir anything up.....but I suspect fowl play...
I don't believe the bird virus thing is as bad as they've made it appear....I do believe this is an underhanded way to produce increased future profits....Prices will eventually come down....but never to where they started.....lower volume...permanent higher prices in our future....The things that we've learned in this thread....about how the business works...breeding...production...distribution....all of it....makes what we're dealing with today not all that likely to occur.....definitely not long term....Just sayin...
And then to add insult to injury...so to say.....the experts are obviously avoiding this conversation...
Click to expand...
I use ellipsis as much as anyone. But damn...

The problem with your theory is capitalism.
 
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DJTorrente said:
I my suburban area, a local hobby farmer had a nice thing going selling $7/doz eggs (and that was BEFORE the run-up, when supermarket eggs were $3/doz) to local BoBos (bourgeois bohemians). He abruptly shut down his stand and destroyed his flock because he says he had a case of A1. I can't imagine he'd go through that expense and forego that income stream unless it were necessary.
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what does steak sauce have to do with eggs?
 
Racerx said:
I use ellipsis as much as anyone. But damn...

The problem with your theory is capitalism.
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You think so..??

I thought competition was a fundamental aspect of capitalism...??

Where's the competition..?? The whole industry appears to be in on the bird flu gag....Sorry....no sale....
 
My maid is cleaning the bathroom, so I can't take a shower
When I do, the water starts getting cold after an hour
I couldn't order off the breakfast menu, cause I slept in till two
Then I filled up on bread, didn't leave any room for tiramisu
Oh no, there's a pixel out in the corner of my laptop screen
I don't have any bills in my wallet small enough for the vending machine
Some idiot just called me up on the phone, what!? Don't they know how to text? OMG!
I got
First world, first world problems . . .

I bought too many groceries for my refrigerator
Forgot my gardener's name, I'll have to ask him later
Tried to fast forward commercials, can't, I'm watching live T.V
I'm pretty sure the cookies in this airport lounge ain't gluten free
My barista didn't even bother to make a design in the foam on the top of my vanilla latte
First world, first world problems . . .

Can't remember which car I drove to the mall
My Sonicare won't recharge, now I gotta brush my teeth like a neanderathal
The thread count on these cotton sheets has got me itching
My house is so big, I can't get WiFi in the kitchen
Uh, I had to buy something I didn't even need just
So I could qualify for free shipping on Amazon
First world, first world problems . . .

-First world problems, Weird Al Yankovic
 
Just got back from the Philippines, and saw this driving from the area around Clark Air Base to Manila.
 

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Yeah, we're entering the fourth year of this battle. We've had over 800 detections in backyard flocks and 740 commercial detections. Layers, broilers, and turkeys we've lost 160mm birds with losses in all 50 states. With another 3mm bird farm going down yesterday the loss of egg layers is now over 125mm out of 310mm to start.

2022 had 34 commercial detections impacting 44.3mm layers
2023 18 and 14.4mm
2024 35 and 40.3mm

YTD 2025 35 for 28mm

It takes between 9 and 15 months from a detection until we can get a farm fully repopulated. The company I'm involved with has farms in Ohio, Iowa, Minnesota, Colorado, Utah, Idaho, Washington and Oregon and have had impacts in every state except Idaho.

I'm not here much anymore, but will try to come back to answer any questions.
 
jime said:
I dunno....not trying to stir anything up.....but I suspect fowl play...
I don't believe the bird virus thing is as bad as they've made it appear....I do believe this is an underhanded way to produce increased future profits....Prices will eventually come down....but never to where they started.....lower volume...permanent higher prices in our future....The things that we've learned in this thread....about how the business works...breeding...production...distribution....all of it....makes what we're dealing with today not all that likely to occur.....definitely not long term....Just sayin...
And then to add insult to injury...so to say.....the experts are obviously avoiding this conversation...
Click to expand...

What would you like me to help you understand or provide clarity to?

We can usually tell in the layer house exactly where the virus got in. The birds will sit down and get quiet. Usually the next day the mortality begins and is exponential until the whole flock is dead usually in under seven days. This virus strain is practically 100% fatal and it shreds them apart very quickly as the circulatory system simply falls apart. Would you like to see some pictures of bloody chicken hearts or hemorrhaging in the proventriculus?

The incursion into the dairy herds and the spread to over 900 dairies nationwide is incredibly troubling as the virus picked up that adaptation that allowed it to jump into mammals.

Eggman
 
Having just read through this entire thread, my sincere thanks to @James_Dean for an amazing set of consistently informative and professional posts. Without doubt one of the best non-flying threads I've read in many years. I really appreciate the opportunity to understand where my eggs are coming from and why paying a little more (or a lot more, recently) is necessary to keeps the farmers in business.

Now if we could just stop with this egg-washing silliness, that would be ideal.
 
I agree with @AvNavCom this is one of the better if not the most informative non-aviation thread on POA.

@James_Dean do they have any insight on how the virus is spreading between farms?

Tim
 
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