"Cage-free" eggs.

We like to buy our eggs from a local farm, where the chickens have free run of a field and a nice big (red) chicken coop.  They can come and go from the coop as often as their little chicken hearts desire.  Their eggs are pricey, but oh so wonderful.  We can tell the difference in taste, texture, and color of the egg yolks from the farm compared to typical eggs in the grocery store.

The disadvantage to buying eggs from the local farm is the lack of convenience.  The "store" where they sell their eggs, milk, and meat, has limited hours.  We recently ran out of eggs, but could not get to the farm during their "open" hours, so we settled for cage-free eggs from the market.  The term "cage-free" can be misleading.  The chickens might not be kept in so-called "cages" but might still have very crowded, small areas, to live (exist) in, with cement under them rather than dirt or even grass.




Still, in a pinch, we reach for the cage-free eggs and hope for the best.  In the meantime, I calendared an outing this week to the farm where I can see with my own eyes the chickens roaming the field and celebrating their chickenhood.