The Economy

My girlfriend's brother has a couple hens and they lay a few times a year. Can't say I noticed any difference from store-bought ones.

Eggs are refrigerated in stores I'm told because commercial farms wash off the outer layer. Go over to Europe and they're on the standard shelves.

 

Hm. Thanks for this really informative post. I had no idea. And I cannot, for the life of me, imagine a million chickens in any one building (and I tried, when I read your post!)

 

So you're saying, "six of one, half-dozen of the other?"

 

You're quite good at those explainers, DQ. I suppose that's because you're willing to do the research, get the data and the analytical methods, and generally know what you're talking about.

If you ever drive down wind of a big chicken house in August you won't have to imagine.

 

I should have said a single farm. Most of these farms have more than one building. But 100,000 or 200,000 in one building, yes.

Here's a story about an avian flu outbreak last spring at an egg farm in my area. They killed 2.75 million birds and put them into a big compost pile. Check out the video. https://www.tmj4.com/news/local-new...-millions-of-chickens-after-bird-flu-outbreak

And maybe you can link to an aerial photo of the farm. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Cold+Spring+Eggs/@42.8833146,-88.6459848,644m/data=!3m1!1e3!4m6!3m5!1s0x8805e9c1ffb2c61f:0x94c4291ee1edf31a!8m2!3d42.8767553!4d-88.6366063!16s/g/1tgcmw9c?hl=en

 

$18 a dozen: how did America’s eggs get absurdly expensive?

He and his staff frequently switch suppliers. “It’s complicated,” he said. “I sell cheeseburgers for a living, and I have to think like an economist now when I buy my fucking eggs.”

 

Pro tip: If your hens stop laying in the winter, give them feed with a higher protein content.

I'm not an egg-spert, I just heard that.

 

I once had a conversation with a youngish guy who took out a $2 million loan to build four chicken houses. He was told it would be a good second income because he'd only have to put about 4-5 hours a week into it.
I know pretty close to zero about operating chicken houses, but I know that can't even be close to correct.

 

I guess environment also matters. If the hens are in a warmer environment (well-heated building with no draft), they'll lay more.

 

I think it's more attuned to the length of day, which can be controlled in an indoor setting.