Pastured Eggs (In Winter)

What do our regeneratively pastured chickens eat?

During the summer they are moved regularly to new pasture which allows them to get a very diversified diet (including bugs, grass, alfalfa, seeds, and normal feed).

This directly impacts their health, contributing to nutrient dense and yummy eggs.

However, in the winter, the chickens still go outside when the weather is decent but generally spend most of the time bedded down in the camper.

Because of this, there are less available nutrients for the chickens from their environment.  We have been working on improving their feed quality, so our eggs remain high quality year-round.

We have just started to use a new local chicken feed supplier this week (they are less than an hour from us)!

They mill their own feed from local certified organic grain!  For the layers, this is still soy-free & non-GMO.  (The feed itself is technically not certified organic, but the grain used in it is).

The feed consists of oat groats, sunflower oil, buckwheat, calcium, and high-lysine corn.

What is high-lysine corn? I had also not heard about this until talking to this feed mill.

High-lysine corn was developed at Purdue University to improve protein levels in corn.  This corn has almost twice the protein content of normal corn, which comes from the unusually high levels of essential amino acids - lysine and tryptophan.  It has more protein than milk - and almost as much protein as meat.

It was initially developed to combat nutrient deficiencies in third-world countries where the general populus cannot afford normal animal protein and relies heavily on grain-based diets.  We have all seen pictures of third-world people who are bloated from mal-nutrition.  This is because they are not getting the protein and nutrients needed due to their diet being composed of a high percentage of low-nutrient grains.

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In the winter, how are our eggs still different (and better) than eggs from the local grocery store?

1) Chickens still do go outside as weather allows to get fresh air and to peck around for additional food.

Egg factories (see image below) hardly allow a chicken to turn around and are focused on production - not nutrient value.  These chickens can hardly move and their only focus in life is to lay eggs.  No sunshine.  No fresh air.  Just your cheap, $2/dozen eggs from the grocery store.

Commercial “Cage Free” eggs are a slight step up (but not much). They come from chickens that are not in a cage - and have at least 1.5 square feet of space to roam around in. I am not sure if a chicken could even turn around in that size of a space. If our chickens were only confined to the camper (which they are not), they would have over 5 times the space per bird to move around in. However, these eggs will generally cost over twice that of standard eggs ($4-5/ dozen at Walmart).

Commercial “Free Range” eggs only mean that chickens have access to the outdoors during their laying cycle. If they do go outside, they generally will not get much nutrient value from their experience (~$6/ dozen at Walmart).

Commercial “Pastured” eggs are better than free range, but does not guarantee that the chickens are moved to fresh pasture regularly - or even the kind of “pasture” that they are in. (Couldn’t find at Walmart Online, but at Whole Foods Market, they are generally $6-7/ dozen.)

If you add “Organic” or “Certified Humane” to the pastured egg carton label, eggs will be $8 or more per dozen (Whole Foods Market).

In short, “Cage Free”, “Free Range” and even commercial “Pastured” eggs cannot compare to regeneratively pastured eggs (even in the winter). These massive egg factories are focused on their bottom line - not your health.

None of these options support your local economy and generally are freighted hundreds (if not thousands) of miles.

2) Our chickens are fed a soy-free diet.

Soy is a cheap protein source and is generally used in industry to drastically reduce feed cost. We need to remember that cheap fillers are generally not better.

Soy contains phytoestrogens (plant-based compounds) that can mimic estrogen by binding to hormone receptors in the body.

Soy also can influence hormonal balance and effect early developmental behaviors in infants, including play behavior and aggressiveness.

While the effects of soy are complex and still being studied, it’s unnatural interaction with human hormones raises concerns about possible long-term health impacts.

I should note that our feed could contain trace amounts of soy at times from contamination, but we do not intentionally feed our animals soy, in contrast to standard industry practice.

Try to find soy-free eggs at your grocery store - I could not find them even at Walmart or Whole Foods (for our location at least).

Soy-free eggs generally would need to be purchased from your local farmer (although most “farm-fresh” eggs are fed cheap, soy-infested feed from the local elevator or farm and ranch store).

3) Our chickens are fed organically raised, non-GMO feed.

We believe in keeping things pure and simple - no genetically modified ingredients, no heavy chemical sprays.  I believe that there is a direct correlation between the heavily genetically modified crops of his world and the health issues of today - cancers, genetic mutations, autism, etc.

Since we know that synthetic fertilizers and sprays have directly affected American health, it is a priority for us to feed our animals the best feed possible - free from “-cides” (death).

Yes, you can buy conventional eggs for $2/ dozen at Walmart, or you could opt for the “better” options for $4-$8+/ dozen, but what are the long-term health consequences?

Our premium eggs are priced to be competitive with “healthy” options at Walmart, while being a much better option for your family.

It just makes sense to add them to your current subscription or to create a new one.

If you currently get eggs from someone else, ask them how their chickens are kept and fed. Do they just feed them cheap GMO, sprayed, or soy-infested feed from the elevator? It is worth asking.

Don’t forget about us as you gather this week.  Let your skeptical uncle try real milk.  Or your inquisitive cousin might want real cream in their coffee.  It isn’t too late to give your children the gift of nutrient dense food with our gift cards as well.

But more importantly, don’t forget the greatest gift - the gift of Jesus Christ.  Let us be careful to not be focused on the material, but rather on things that have eternal value.

Yes, physical health is very important - yet even more so is the health of our eternal soul.

We are here to help.  Let us know if you have any questions or need assistance with anything.


Your farmers - the Schrock Family