Country Farm Eggs Ltd - 01608738350

A small scale true free range egg farm run by the de Beer family near Hook Norton.

Before we had our own hens we used to buy free-range eggs from the supermarket because we believed the hens were happy and free to scratch around in the soil. But the truth is that, whilst standards at some free-range farms are very good, others are shockingly low, where birds are crammed together in sheds with little room to engage in natural behaviour, like nesting, and have never felt the sun on their backs.

We were really concerned about the origin of our eggs and the welfare of the hens. We decided that we would like to have our own hens and let them have a truly free-range, happy life. We bought Dottie, Lottie and Olga and it was a pleasure to see them roaming freely in our garden. They all had their own characters and it was amusing to observe their little ways. It was a joy for our daughter to go and collect their eggs every morning and for us all to enjoy the tasty, fresh eggs.

Gradually we increased our flock and were able to offer some eggs to people who we knew, who also loved their taste and kept asking for more. People were very happy to pay for them which helped to cover the cost of the girls food and egg boxes etc. We never seem to have enough eggs to satisfy demand! We currently have hens which lay a variety of sizes and colours ranging from white and cream to blue and mahogany.

Free range means free range to us.

"Free range" refers to chickens being allowed to range freely outdoors where they can eat whatever grass, weed seeds, insects and worms they choose. This results in more nutritious fresh eggs for our consumers, and more healthy, humane conditions for the birds. Some producers abuse this term and label their eggs as “free range” when in fact all they have done is open a door to allow their chickens to range in an outdoor area of bare dirt or concrete, with no pasture in sight.

Thus you need to confirm if your eggs or chicken comes from "true" or "pastured" or "grass-fed" free-range conditions like our chickens. Also, some producers choose a modified system that involves keeping birds safe from predators by confining them in pens or inside electric fencing, and moving the pens frequently onto fresh pastures. Thus, pastured birds may be true free-range or penned, but either system is correctly referred to as “pastured.” And either system is a better choice than products that come from industrial factory farm conditions. All our hens are TRUE FREE RANGE PASTURED HENS.

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