Why do you claim that your eggs are more nutritious than the grocery store?

We have experienced the difference firsthand in our own kitchen, as we have eaten and cooked with fresh eggs from our backyard hens. The flavor, color, taste, size, and strength of the yolks does not compare to their grocery store counterpart.

We have also experienced what happens when you incubate an egg that was laid by a nutrient-deficient hen (the egg came from a different farm, not one of our hens). The chick that was born from that egg absorbed a yolk that did not give him the nutrients that he needed to thrive, because the hen who laid the egg was lacking those nutrients herself. We tried to nurse this chick back to health for a week, and even syringe-fed the baby chick egg yolk from our backyard hens and medicated water around the clock, but it never was able to start walking and only lived a week. We wrote a blog post about our experience with this chick you can read here.

How do your eggs compare to Vital Farms pasture-raised eggs?

Vital Farms has a great product that I used to buy myself before I had backyard hens. From browsing their website, their flock seems to have adequate outdoor space, which certainly sets them apart from their grocery-store competitors. However, being that they are a large operation, I do think we have a competitive advantage for the conscious consumer that isn’t achievable at their scale:

We are able to focus on packing our eggs with nutrients in a way that would be cost-prohibitive to an operation of that scale.

1. We use a certified organic, soy free, corn free, filler-free feed that is double the price of mainstream chicken feed (even the organic options!). I can buy a low-quality organic chicken feed for $36 for 40 lbs — Scratch and Peck feeds, which is what we use, is $55 for 25 lbs. For 50 lbs, we are paying $110 for our feed, compared to $45 for 50 lbs of lower-quality organic chicken feed. Vital Farms does raise organic flocks for their organic eggs, but they are also charging a premium price for their non-organic eggs.

2. We also give our birds tons of dietary supplements to promote nutrient-rich eggs, such as beef liver, fresh herbs, bugs, grubs, worms, and more. We grow and maintain herb gardens for our chickens to graze year-round, which is a surprising amount of work because chickens can be quite destructive while foraging.

We are able to prioritize animal welfare in a way that isn’t possible for a large-scale operation. Our flock is compromised of named birds we treat like pets.

1. We also use essential-oil based supplements to promote health in our birds.

2. We take our birds to the vet when necessary.

We do not raise production breeds or any other genetically-modified cross breed that is designed to lay more eggs at the expense of the bird’s livelihood. These hens often die premature deaths, because the rapid onset of laying eggs and the frequency of laying eggs comes with several co-morbidities (such as internal laying, egg bound, cancer of the reproductive system, etc.). Vital Farms does have a production breed Golden Comet hen pictured on their website, but I do not know their flock makeup or if this information is available to the public.

We can promise you this — our eggs don’t only compare, we think that they blow other eggs out of the water. Try them out and see for yourself.

If animal welfare is one of your values, why do you raise meat birds? Is slaughtering birds inhumane?

Animal welfare is an important aspect of our operations, which is something we pride ourselves in. However, we do eat meat and we also believe that meat holds an important part of our diet. It is an incredible source of complete and easily digestible proteins.

If you choose to eat meat, we believe the most conscious way to do so is to eat meat from animals that were healthy, well taken care of, and humanely dispatched in a quick and effective manner. There are many farms who believe this, too, and have brought ethically raised, pasture-raised meat to market as a result of this conviction. If the birds are well cared for, and they are dispatched humanely, there is no reason to assume slaughtering birds is inhumane simply because they are raised to be a food source.

We do not want to contribute to the demand for Cornish Cross breeds that are bred to gain at a rapid rate in order to harvest earlier at a cheaper cost to the farmer. These poor birds are so pathetic, dispatching them is the humane thing to do. They often cannot stand underneath their own weight. However, we think the most humane thing to do is not raise the breed at all. We believe animal welfare also means raising heritage breeds for meat, despite the higher cost associated with it.

Why was my fresh eggs order packaged in a plastic carton?

When purchasing egg cartons and other supplies, we will opt for the most sustainable and economical option available to us. However, we believe that reusing where possible is also an important aspect of sustainability. Reusing plastic egg cartons that are donated to us achieves this by reducing the demand for the production of new plastic products, and also keeps used plastic egg cartons out of the landfill. We don’t want to contribute to the consumption of plastic, but we absolutely will reuse plastic egg cartons because we think that keeping them out of the landfill is also very impactful.

Can I buy one of your live poultry if I already have an established flock of backyard hens?

Yes, absolutely you can purchase one of our live poultry if you already have an established flock of backyard hens. Consider introducing new birds to your flock in pairs to help smoothen the integration, but if that is not an option you can successfully integrate a single bird. We have had a 100% success rate with the look but no see method. We will use dog crates, or chicken fencing to allow them to see each other, but not access each other, in case any bird is feeling aggressive and wants to start something. It is possible for chickens to kill each other if a weakness or threat or vulnerability is perceived. Giving them time to warm up to each other is always a great idea! I aim for a week to two weeks, but I’ve never needed to do it longer than 5 or so days. Once, I even had chickens integrate themselves by squeezing out of the fencing to join the rest of the flock on their own terms. To this day, I have no idea how the heck they managed that. Chickens, I tell ya!

Read more about integrating on our blog here.

We do regular health checks on our birds to ensure optimal health. We will never rehome a bird with known health problems. However, your flock could have underlying health issues they are not experiencing symptoms for, as could mine. Sometimes the stress of integration brings these things to the surface. Some individuals recommend a quarantine period to ensure that both flocks are healthy.

Read more about quarantine practices on our blog here.

I need to rehome a rooster. Will you take them?

We are open to accepting your rooster in need of rehoming and introducing them to our bachelor flock on a case-by-case basis. We need to ensure that the rooster can be successfully integrated, that we have the appropriate amount of space, and that there are no biosecurity issues that can threaten the health of our flock by the addition. We will discuss with you to determine if it is an option, then visit the rooster and do an examination to make the determination.

Email us at fluffybuttorchard@gmail.com to inquire.

My chickens barely tolerate me. How do you keep your birds friendly?

I made this mistake with my first flock. I was scared to handle them as chicks because they were so small and vulnerable. I was afraid that if I took them out of their brooder, they would escape from me and I would never catch them again. I was also afraid that one of my small children would handle them too roughly and injure them. By the time they were teenagers, they were NOT friendly at all. I tried to reverse course by hand feeding them, which they had no interest in. However, once they reached laying age, they began to do the submissive squat for me which made it easier for me to catch them. After catching them and holding them a lot, they warmed up to me and began taking treats and feed from our hands.

Now, whenever they give me trouble, I can hand feed them and they will calm back down.

One of my girls in particular will peck us on purpose when she gets ornery. It doesn’t hurt, but we don’t tolerate that behavior either. It is important for her to know who’s boss, because mutual respect and trust is an essential part of effective chicken keeping. When this happens, we will catch her and gently pin her down until she relents. This mimics the rooster’s actions when dominating the hens and asserting his position as flock leader. The point is NOT to harm her or strong arm her into submission — it is simply to assert your dominance. When she relents and settles down, this is her way of acknowledging and relenting.

Then, we give her lots of pets, and let her run off on her way. After doing this a few times, she calms down again and doesn’t repeat the behavior anymore (unless I don’t visit with her frequently enough).

How do I tame and domesticate my rooster?

Roosters can be tricky, especially because there is so much bad information out there about how to “tame” them by “showing them who’s boss”. The fact of the matter is, sometimes roosters are territorial because it is in their biological nature to be protective of their hens. That’s a good thing! You want him to earn his keep by protecting your flock. The key is often, frequent handling, mutual respect, hand feeding, and giving him his space when he’s giving you warnings.

Sometimes you do all the right things, and the rooster just has bad genes and an aggressive predisposition. Since roosters can do serious damage if the opportunity arises, aggressive roosters should be dealt with appropriately.

Learn more about keeping roosters by reading our blog here.

Can I place an order online? How do I get my order?

Placing an online order is our preferred method of ordering. We plan to accommodate card payments or cash payments. Your order will be delivered to you, or we can meet each other at a neutral location for pick up. This will be coordinated with you via the email used to place your order. We will confirm your order and let you know approximately when it will be ready to coordinate pickup.

When will honey products become available?

Once our ongoing projects with our deluxe chicken coop, orchard re-vamp, infrastructure updates, and meat bird operations are underway, we anticipate expanding into our honey offerings next. At this time, we still have a lot of work ahead of us and are trying to prioritize one project at a time.

Can I visit the farm?

For bio-security reasons and practical reasons, the farm is closed to the public. Our hobby farm is part of a private residence.

Is there a way to purchase in-person?

At this time, we do not have a physical presence where you can purchase in-person. We would love to expand this direction in the future, whether that be through local business partnership, farmers markets, or a farm stand. If you are unable to make a purchase over the website for whatever reason, please feel free to contact us by email at fluffybuttorchard@gmail.com and we will try to help you.