CSA Egg Shares: Meet the Hens
Eggs seem to be having a moment, so this month Farmer Abby and I visited our egg partners to meet the hens and the people who care for them. We drove down to Stateline Farms near Cresco, IA to check out the chickens and see the whole operation.
Stateline Farms is an Amish cooperative of farmers producing a variety of organic agriculture products including eggs, vegetables, and jams. Multiple families have their own certified organic flock and contribute to the egg production for the cooperative. We visited David and his family, who currently have 1,000 brown laying hens at their farm. Here, the chickens spend their winters in a large barn with nesting boxes along the walls, where they lay their eggs. In May, once the weather warms, the chickens are let out into a fenced area with easy access to the barn until it gets cold again in November. Temperature and daylight affect how many eggs the hens produce, so David wakes up in the middle of the night to turn on an oil lamp for the hens. He gets about two months off of this task in the middle of summer when the days are long, but otherwise is providing supplemental light the rest of the year to keep egg production at its peak. David and his wife collect eggs by hand two to three times a day, and spend their evenings sorting, packaging, and running the eggs through their motorized egg scrubber. They check every egg for fractures and cracks, then sort the eggs by size: Large, Extra Large, and Jumbo. These hens are not laying small eggs!
David grows and mixes his own certified organic feed for his flock, adjusting the protein, calcium, and fat contents of the mix according to the quality of the eggs. He said when he notices the eggs getting too small, he increases the protein (organic soy he grows and grinds himself), and when the shell quality is suffering (usually as the hens age), he adds a calcium supplement to the feed. He mixes his own feed every other week, for a consistent fresh feed that he can tweak in real time.
We talked with David about his thoughts on the avian flu and if his flock had been affected. He has not experienced any loss and told us brown laying hens are less susceptible than white layers. I looked into this and found a study that concluded brown layers have a faster immune cell response, “resulting in better resistance against avian influenza virus infection.” He is also giving his hens ample space and attentive care. The price per dozen for his eggs will remain the same for the rest of the year, allowing us to offer our CSA members a guaranteed price for the whole season!
We were impressed with David’s operation and are excited to be able to continue offering these amazing eggs to our CSA members.
Until next time,
-Nicole