Do you buy caged or free range?

CHokKA said:
It's not all about taste though. Why are you happy buying into a method that treats the animals in such a poor way? You might not be able to tell the difference between the two, but there really is. Free range just tastes better, and surely the extra £ or two to ensure you're buying from a more friendly and responsible farming method is worth it too? I just don't understand how you can be happy paying such a pittance for what is essentially a hen crammed into a cage churning out eggs all day everyday with no movement whatsoever. It just isn't right.

I'm no animal rights activist but I do believe in buying good quality meat and eggs sourced in a manner that is respectful of the animals providing it. It just seems like the right thing to do.

By the way, crack open a caged hen's egg into a bowl, and then crack open a Burford Brown egg and see if you can tell the difference. You'd be surprised at just how noticeable it is.
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Aren't you just comparing different chicken breeds there though? Nothing to do with the conditions they are kept.
 
When I was growing up in Cornwall we had a bunch of chickens which would be let out into the fields during the day and locked up at night. They produced the best eggs I've had without a doubt, and so many double-yolkers! Couldn't eat them fast enough despite scrambled eggs being a very regular occurrence in the household. These days own-brand free range, they don't compare.
 
Osprey said:
When I was growing up in Cornwall we had a bunch of chickens which would be let out into the fields during the day and locked up at night. They produced the best eggs I've had without a doubt, and so many double-yolkers! Couldn't eat them fast enough despite scrambled eggs being a very regular occurrence in the household. These days own-brand free range, they don't compare.
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Also, our chickens proved to be excellent at exterminating ants. By eating them.

Unfortunately I don't like eggs, which reduced the overall benefit somewhat.
 
I buy free range from the local farmer. 6 medium for £1 or 6 large for £1.50. There's only pence in it between the cheapest and decent eggs. When you consider a couple of eggs and a few slices of crusty bread is a cheap meal, you might as well pay that little bit extra for something that tastes nice.
 
Mainly free range. I had no idea them big and fresh weren't free range. Thought it was just the value eggs that were battery :eek:.

Got to say the last pack of the big and fresh eggs I got were really nice. Best tasting eggs I have had since I bought some from a farm shop a while ago. All super market eggs, free range or battery seem to taste of nothing to me these days, so it was a surprise to get some that actually tasted like the eggs I remember from my childhood.
 
Mark A said:
Mainly free range. I had no idea them big and fresh weren't free range. Thought it was just the value eggs that were battery :eek:.

Got to say the last pack of the big and fresh eggs I got were really nice. Best tasting eggs I have had since I bought some from a farm shop a while ago. All super market eggs, free range or battery seem to taste of nothing to me these days, so it was a surprise to get some that actually tasted like the eggs I remember from my childhood.
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Try some of the Clarence Court Legbars or Burford Browns (I know most Sainsburys and Waitrose stock them) mentioned previously in this thread - they're sublime. Deep orange yolks and a wonderful taste.
 
Tax Evader said:
Aiii! Been buying Legbars or Burford Browns for years.
So much better than eggs with yellow yolks :D
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They are and I only eat scrambled with butter and pepper. We have some hens where I live so can get some fresh eggs daily as we are at the moment as our friends are out any my wife is looking after the chickens. They are not a patch on Clarence court and they are free rage and happy as Larry chickens.
 
Amp34 said:
Aren't you just comparing different chicken breeds there though? Nothing to do with the conditions they are kept.
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Perhaps my comparison was flawed, as Burford Brown eggs are a deep orange. Compare a caged hen egg to the same breed free-range egg and you'll still notice a difference. I'm sure caged hen eggs are more watery and paler in colour than a typical free range egg. Regardless, as I said before it isn't just about taste, and as far as I'm concerned for the extra 50p or whatever difference it is for the same amount of free range, I couldn't buy a caged hen egg and be happy to eat it knowing what those poor animals had to go through just to produce them. It's barbaric.
 
t's not just comparing breads anyway, Clarence court have higher welfare. Their welfare is really what should be the legal minimum.
 
Glaucus said:
t's not just comparing breads anyway, Clarence court have higher welfare. Their welfare is really what should be the legal minimum.
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Yeah that's what I was trying to point out in my original comparison. I was making a point about how much better the welfare is of Burford Brown chickens. Unfortunately Amp34 saw my comparison as being of the breed, which was nothing to do with it. I don't think that their deep orange yolk is solely based upon their breed; I believe it has much to do with the conditions that they live in.
 
They feed them corn to enrich the colour. But it's an open policy which is on their website.
It's still mass produced just a fair bit better than other brands.
 
Lady at work has Chickens in her garden so I get them from her, £1 for a box of 6 large eggs and she gives the proceeds to charity. But no eggs from November as she says the chickens won't be laying through winter unfortunately.
 
I buy whatever's the cheapest now. I've experimented a lot in the past buying eggs from different sources but I really don't think there's any difference in taste. One chicken egg is very much like another.
 
Doesn't matter if you eat caged or free range, you're still supporting a grim industry.

Also humans are the only mammals that still continue to drink milk into adulthood.
 
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