Carnist Queries - “is it ok to eat my backyard chicken eggs?”
Yes, it is time once again for another instalment of carnist queries! Just as a reminder: this post is for people actively against animal cruelty (ethical vegans). We’re here to arm each other with info to rebut against the onslaught of misinformation and misinformed carnists. So if you’re an omni-scum lurking around these choppy waters, then prepare to be absolutely and savagely triggered…
No hate, especially if you’re going about it the right way, but backyard chickens have somehow become the hot new, middle class/upper middle class, suburban household animal to have at the moment. I understand if you have a farm property, or if you live in a third world country and your chicken is one of your major assets, but lately I’ve seen a lot of people keeping these wonderful creatures in their green lawn, modern suburban, backyard homes.
That's cool though right?
Yeah it kind of is. Living off of the land vibes, knowing where your eggs/food comes from. It's even a lot better than buying organic or free range eggs for sure. And hey, maybe the hens help you with some composting in the backyard to grow your own plants or vegetables - awesome! Seriously, that is super good. But for the love of god please stop buying your chickens from breeders. In fact, don’t buy chickens at all. If you have access to breeders or some other means to buy a chicken, then you can probably get a rescue one. Literally as I am writing this, I see a post from a local vegan facebook group pop up about needing to find homes for 500 rescued chickens. But hey, if you can’t get a rescue chicken for whatever reason, but you still really really want a chicken - then as a human in the western world - (with enough financial resources and life privilege to be able to read this niche online blog post/podcast episode on the internet) maybe don’t get a chicken. You probably don’t need to own one. Especially not a chicken from a breeder.
At any given time, there are over 30 billion farm chickens in the world, and roughly 100 million of them are being killed each day. And yes, unfortunately when you buy eggs you are also supporting the death of chickens, in particular: male chicks… Macerator go brrrrr… Sorry that wasn’t funny. But I get tired of explaining things to people like they’re innocent little children. Ok but maybe you already have backyard chickens, so is it bad to keep them? No, please, keep them! Take good care of them, you’ve committed to having chickens under your care so now you must ensure their safety, just as you would for any other beloved pet. But please don’t go and get a rooster for them to multiply with when there are so many little chicken friends waiting to go into good homes.
I know that I’m going on a bit of a tangent here, but I think this stuff about breeding and selling is important to talk about, so stick with me and we’ll get back to the eggs question in a bit.
To breed an animal, and then to sell them for profit - is not a good thing to do. Especially when there is a better alternative. Just like making more ethical choices in the supermarket. If we want to be these holistic, healthy, conscientious, peaceful and self-improving beings, then we can’t keep letting our desire for convenience win against our better judgement. By buying any animal from a breeder, you are supporting a smaller version of the very same industries and practices that are the problem. Profiting off of the sale of animals is a problem, it incentivises the exploitation of these creatures. There is a reason why the “stop puppy farming legislation” is passing in Western Australia, and why many more bills like it are being applied in countries and states around the world. Animal sanctuaries are full of beautiful creatures like chickens that have been saved from farms by activists. During transport they can fall out of, or escape from the trucks, and they are often too weak to survive for long on their own - having been kept in a cage or in small quarters their whole life. And yes that almost always includes “free range” chickens too.
Think of your beloved pet dogs - getting particular breeds for thousands of dollars has become such a norm in Australia. But the shelters are so full of beautiful dogs that hundreds of them have to be put down in Australia every single day. So is it really so important to get your purebred french bulldog? Trust me, you’re going to love your rescue dog just as much, and it’ll love you right back if you treat it right. And why should chickens be thought of any differently?
So hey, good on you for wanting to home some chickens in your backyard. But please consider getting some rescue ones from your local sanctuary or rescue group, instead of adding to the problem by buying them from a breeder. Thank you.
Ok so back to the eggs - I wouldn’t eat them because vegetables and other plant foods are a lot better for you - eggs are really high in cholesterol and fats (sorry haters but it’s true), and they have a risk of making you sick (salmonella, E. coli). Although I used to love eating eggs, I now associate them with macerators and other horrible practices and conditions across the meat and egg industries. Also it is important to keep in mind that wild hens only lay around 10-20 eggs a year, and modern chickens, which have been selectively bred for productivity (including your backyard chickens), lay a lot more: potentially 200-300 eggs a year in fact. This can often lead to a lot of bone issues because of the unnatural amount of calcium required for such a ridiculous output. So what I would do is leave the eggs, allow the chickens to lay them in clutches, rather than potentially stressing them out by taking the eggs away from them so quickly all of the time. If your chickens are low on calcium from laying eggs so often, then there is a good chance that they’ll want to eat their own eggs to replenish their lost nutrients. Let them do so. If not, then add those rotten eggs to your compost pile. What I don’t really like is the idea of normalising the consumption of animals and animal products even more than we already do. Let’s not be so quick to start giving or selling our leftover backyard eggs to our friends - consequently giving them the idea to do the same thing. It’s not hard to eat plant based foods instead, it's a lot better, and it doesn’t propagate this false notion that it's possible to have “humane” animal farms or something like that.
For example: it was possible to treat a slave “well” back in the day, or to be a “good slave owner”, but at the end of the day you’re still a slave owner dude… People deserve freedom, and animals deserve freedom as well, don’t “own” one unless you’re rescuing it. Also vegan eggs are a legit product now, believe it or not, so if you can’t fathom having a different meal for breakfast, then there is another option out there for you, you lazy, sulphur smelling prick.
