You’ve probably seen the term CAGE-FREE when shopping in the grocery store for poultry. Seems like a healthy option, right? Actually, the healthier and more humane option for raising chickens is PASTURE-RAISED.
Poultry that is cage-free only means that the hens don’t live in cages. The term does not specify or indicate how much space they have, or whether or not they see the outdoors. Typically these hens are raised in extremely over-crowded conditions in an indoor structure.
Because of the cramped living spaces, hens are in every space, including the floor where they are in contact with manure from other chickens and are at greater risk for exposure to Escherichia coli and Salmonella.
Pasture-raised chickens, on the other hand, are outdoors in the fresh air, with plenty of space to roam, yet there is shelter for them as well.
A study by the Coalition for Sustainable Egg Supply (CSES), found that mortality in a cage-free system was double that of other housing systems, in part due to excessive pecking and cannibalizing, despite beak trimming.
Is this really where you want your dinner coming from? There’s enough stress in raising a family to worry about what your package of chicken actually contains.
Mother Earth News conducted a study on the types of benefits that pasture-raised eggs could provide. Compared to commercially-raised eggs, they found that the eggs of hens raised on pasture have:
- 1/3 less cholesterol
- 2/3 more vitamin A
- 1/4 less saturated fat
- 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
- 7 times more beta carotene
- 3 times more vitamin E
The chickens we raise at Green Acres Family Farmstead are lovingly cared for, raised from chicks, with plenty of room in the grassy pasture.
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