Buying Farm Eggs

[Buster]

I wouldn't buy from anyone who wouldn't let me see how their animals live. The biosecurity thing is just a cop out invented by Big Food to hide their practices from the public. No excuse for it, and no excuse for a backyard or small time grower, especially.

You needn't make a bid deal of it. Just show up to pick up your eggs and say, "Can I see your chickens?" If they say no, just find another seller and consider that first buck fifty an investment in peace of mind. I don't want to reward someone who treats their animals badly with my business.

And I wouldn't worry about how the eggs were cleaned. They are still going to be better than the store bought factory farmed stuff.

 

[Wifezilla]

The biosecurity thing is just a cop out invented by Big Food to hide their practices from the public. No excuse for it, and no excuse for a backyard or small time grower, especially.

I think biosecurity is a bit of a myth anyway. With as many species of wild birds that fly over, perch on, dig for bugs next to, try to get in my duck pen, there is no way I could keep cooties out even if I wanted to.

The wild birds also think my pond makes a nifty water source. As tiny as my yard is half the time it looks like a freaking wild life sanctuary

 

[patandchickens]

If you are picky about how eggs are cleaned, just ask for yours *uncleaned* and do it however you prefer

I can't see any legitimate reason for not letting you see the chickens. To see whether they seem basically happy/healthy, and to see what if any access to green food they have (which is the main thing that influences the nutritional content of the eggs). Maybe not letting you IN with them, but you should at least be able to SEE them.

I mean, someone buying eating-eggs is almost by definition not a chicken owner and thus not going to be tracking chicken poo on their shoes, nothing more than the ambient wild bird germs that are EVERYwhere.

My personal attitude towards biosecurity is that it is pretty pointless for the average chickenkeeper to worry about germs from wild birds; but that it CAN be quite reasonable to try to minimize exposure to likely stews of chicken-specific diseases, like maybe not wanting people to walk into your poultry yard if they have sick chickens, or perhaps just a *lot* of chickens, at home, or if they have recently been somewhere like that. Obviously I'm not saying everyone should follow that policy, but I don't think it's unreasonable.

Me, I also don't buy grown birds (well ok I bought a pair of teenage turkeys last year but I knew who they were coming from and quarantined them ) for the same reason. Your likeliest source of Things YOu Don't Want Your Birds To Get is other domestic poultry, not "the world in general"

JMHO,

Pat

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and choices about bio-security.

I paid for NPIP certification through my state. I am required to practice good bio-security if I want my certification to be legit. If I purchase from a non NPIP flock, the new birds have to be quarantined and tested or my certification is null and void.

You can pretty much see my poultry and their pens from my back yard without having to actually enter my poultry area. I do not allow anyone in my pens, other than my immediately family and Becca - but even she is respectful about not coming in my pens if I ask her not to.

 

[patandchickens]

Q.A., just to be clear, my post was not directed at you specifically, just the topic in general. For one thing note that I was talking about the average backyard chickenkeeper, not someone who has to operate under NPIP rules.

And I still notice that you let people SEE your chickens, just not necessarily go in WITH them

No offense meant,

Pat

 

[Farmfresh]

I would just ask for unwashed eggs. I would also ask what they are fed. I would not by eggs if the hens are being fed a medicated feed.

Fresh air, sunshine and fresh greens = healthy hens.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

Q.A., just to be clear, my post was not directed at you specifically, just the topic in general. For one thing note that I was talking about the average backyard chickenkeeper, not someone who has to operate under NPIP rules.

And I still notice that you let people SEE your chickens, just not necessarily go in WITH them

No offense meant,

Pat

Oh Pat, I wasn't offended! I'm sorry if it seemed that way. I just wanted to clarify to everyone my reasons for practicing bio-security.

I apologize if I came off on the offensive, I've been sick, and not thinking clearly.

When I made the statement, "if you asked to see my pens I'd turn you a way" I didn't mean I was opposed to someone asking to see my birds, but more of, I don't feel they should expect to enter my pens.

I've had people try to follow me in when I go to get a bird that they're interested in buying. Walking around the outside of the pens, not such a big deal, but just expecting to walk in without asking, no.

I've actually started telling people up front "I don't give tours of my coops" because people have shown up wanting to actually go check for eggs - and I don't have outside access to my nest boxes.

I've had people come over and just open the rabbit hutch - without asking - or the call duck pens - again without asking.

One lady met me at my house to buy Turkey's from Becca. We transported the birds to our house because Becca had to work. The woman showed up and didn't even come to our door to knock. No, she walked straight out to the poultry yard and started browsing around all my coops!! I was livid! If it hadn't been for the dog barking and the kids telling us someone had come up the driveway, we might not have realized she was out there.

I did manage to be polite to her, but was never so happy for someone to leave.

Sorry for going off topic.

 

[Buster]

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and choices about bio-security.

I paid for NPIP certification through my state. I am required to practice good bio-security if I want my certification to be legit. If I purchase from a non NPIP flock, the new birds have to be quarantined and tested or my certification is null and void.

Well, I think adding birds to the flock is a different matter. Even when they have been quarantined for 30 days, they can still be carriers and bring something into a flock.

I stick mostly with chicks and hatching eggs now days. I still occasionally buy an adult bird (although that will be changing soon), but they don't go in with my (now) dedicated layer flock, ever.

So, that is a caveat to my previous protestations about biosecurity. I do practice it at a certain level. I just don't buy the notion that someone walking in my coops and yards is a part of all that.

I don't care much for the NPIP thing for myself, though, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

 

[Farmfresh]

I don't care much for the NPIP thing for myself, though, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

Whether we place much stock in NPIP is beside the point. The BUYING public looks for this as a symbol of safety. Being NPIP certified usually means a bigger profit margin.

 

[Buster]

I don't care much for the NPIP thing for myself, though, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms.

Whether we place much stock in NPIP is beside the point. The BUYING public looks for this as a symbol of safety. Being NPIP certified usually means a bigger profit margin.

Right. It's a marketing tool more than anything else. Sort of like "certified organic".