GOOD QUESTIONS: Pastured Eggs?

Hello Local Forage,

I love eggs but have been reading about how inferior conventional ones are. I don't live near a farm, I live here in San Francisco. Where do I get pastured eggs around here?

Thanks,

GB

(Note: Email questions and pics with QUESTIONS in subject line to: carla (at) localforage (dot) com)

Link to all Good Questions

Dear GB,

I love eggs too! They make me feel great. When I eat them in the morning I feel grounded, solid and ready to take on the day.

Getting pastured eggs is not easy. When I was subscribed to the Eatwell Farms CSA box, I received pastured eggs from Three Wise Hens. Kyle at Three Wise Hens raises his chickens on Eatwell's pastures. The chickens provide fertility for fallow fields while they feast on green cover crops.

According to Eatwell, the hens have houses for shelter, and they go in and out as they like. They are not debeaked like most commercial layers, and they have acres of land to scratch and peck.

These pastured eggs are totally different from supermarket eggs, both in flavor and nutrition. Tests done on eggs raised on pasture show half the cholesterol, and much higher levels of Omega 3 fatty acids, as well as a number of important micronutrients difficult to get from other natural sources. The eggs are laid just days before you get them, and they and stand up high in a fluffy mound when you break them. They are rich-tasting with beautiful bright orange yolks and tender whites.

When they're available (the CSA gets first priority), Kyle sells his eggs at the Ferry Plaza Market in San Francisco on Saturdays 8-2. Although, I haven't seen him there in a long time. You can also get Three Wise Hens eggs at Rainbow Grocery in San Francisco. But you have to time it right. The Rainbow delivery is Fridays and they sell out fast!

Marin Suns Farms are another excellent choice. They're at the Ferry Plaza Market on Saturdays. But don't wait until the end of the day to visit their stall!

Readers, if you have other sources in SF or if you live in another city in the Bay Area, please let us hear from you.

~Carla

Comments

[claire]

I live in Campbell and am wondering if anyone knows where I can get pastured eggs, preferably soy-free, in the South Bay?

[Carla]

Claire,
I did a quick search and found Black Hen Farms on Google. They sell at the Los Gatos farmer's market. Do you know about them?

Also many CSAs that deliver to the south bay give the option of ordering pastured eggs.
~carla

[Natalie]

Carla, I want to tell you about an experience I had at Eatwell farms in June. I went for a work day and saw how their (Kyle's?) chickens live. They are *not* pasture fed, they are given feed and yes, they can go in and out of their shelter (there are about 2 hen houses and hundreds of chickens) but into a fenced in area that had no greenery to feed on--it was an enclosed dirt area. Didn't look too nice and certainly wasn't the free range chicken picture that i have in my mind when i think of a bio-diverse free-range farm.

That said, I think Nigel and Eatwell are really great. And I'm sure these chickens are treated humanely.

[Carla]

Natalie, I will ask Nigel at Eatwell what the scoop is. I also want to confirm that these chickens you're referring are the Three Wise Hens chickens.

[Pat Horwath]

Hi,
I'm curious if anyone has purchased Marin Sun Farm eggs? I've found their whites (in to separate cartons) to be very runny (yolks are dark yellow). I know MSF recommends not refrigerating their eggs and when I purchased them from their store in Pt. Reyes, they were not refrigerated.

I've purchased other local cage free pasture fed eggs and the yolks were tight. So I'm curious if I had a bad batch of eggs or if MSF eggs always have runny whites because the owner does not refrigerate them.

Both Sally Fallon and others recommend refrigerating eggs but MSF says its ok not to since they are not chemically washed.

I'm not an expert on eggs but when I tried to fry an egg, the whites went all over the pan like water.

I've associated the freshness of the eggs with the whites being tight. Does anyone else have runny whites with pastured eggs.
Pat

[Tabinda]

I don't know all of the details, but I know some. The guy who used to own Three Wise Hens left the farm this summer so there have been some changes. I know Nigel is working on things. I don't know if this has affected whether the eggs are pastured or not, but to my eye and taste, the eggs seem the same. I agree the yolks are not as orange as MSF but they never were and I'm not sure of the reason.

I also know Nigel is building some movable enclosures so the chickens can be moved around the farm and then can come in when they want. I'm on vacation so I don't have the subscriber newsletter, but the movable enclosure article a couple of issues ago implied that the point is to be able to move the chickens around on different areas of pasture.

Tabinda

[karen]

When I visited Eatwell, the chickens were in a fenced pasture. The pasture was quite large and also had a few head of cattle. Eatwell doesn't want to lose their chickens, so they are kept in fenced pastures. My understanding is that Eatwell feeds their chickens chicken feed outside of their hen houses to encourage the chickens to eat bugs (and greens). The chickens will eat the bugs and breakdown the manure, compost, etc. enhancing the soil with their feet.