If you’ve spent any time in a grocery store lately, you’ve probably noticed that the shelves are stocked with dozens of different types of eggs – white eggs, brown eggs, free range, pasture raised, organic – it can be overwhelming! Maybe you’ve settled on a carton of Farmers Hen House Free Range eggs and you’re wondering “what does free range actually look like? What about pasture raised?”
Free range and pasture raised at Farmers Hen House means GRASS! Lots of it. Each one of our free range hens gets at least 2 square feet of green Iowa grass to scratch around in, and our pasture raised gals get even more. 108 square feet per hen, to be exact! Our farmers work hard all year long to make sure their grass stays in tip-top shape, and some even plant extra forage like millet or sorghum for their hens to peck through. You may even see a few wildflowers here and there!
Not only do our hens have plenty of grassy space to explore, when the sun shines bright and it’s time for a break all our outside access areas have plenty of shady spots to relax in. Many farms plant trees and bushes around their chicken houses for their hens to relax under, and other farms provide wide shade awnings scattered throughout the outside area. And if a cool drink is what they’re after, every farm provides clean fresh water outside the barn as well, so our hens can stay outside as long as they wish.
Being good stewards of the land is an important part of producing eggs for Farmers Hen House. Not only do grass and trees make a lush environment for our hens, but they also help prevent erosion and contribute to the health of our rich Iowa soil. Our hens even do their part to keep up the land by scratching, dust bathing, and chasing insects outside.
Every carton of Farmers Hen House Free Range or Pasture Raised eggs come with a promise that our hens spend as much time outside as possible. We do our best to take advantage of every sunny day, and our pasture raised hens can head outside year round (don’t worry, they always wear their down feather coats!) We believe there’s nothing better than fresh Iowa air and sunshine, and our hens do too!
Just another way that we’re more than an egg.
