Sunday 21 August 2016

Happy Hens Make Happy Eggs - The Happy Egg Co

Happy hens make happy eggs! Sounds like a cliché right, that's what I thought anyway.

I was invited to visit one of The Happy Egg Co farms recently and drove there with a smirk on my face. Happy hens indeed!!

Well let me tell you these hens are the pampered princesses of the chicken world!
The hens are let out of their houses/barns first thing in the morning and come running out making a gleeful clucking noise, a really happy hen noise.
The hens are shut up again when it gets dark and this depends on the season, maybe around 15:30 in the winter but could be as late as 22:00 on a fine summer evening however during the time between coming out and evening curfew the hens are free to roam around a huge area and pop back inside as they want. They have trees for shelter outside in their large 'yard' area and food and drink whenever they want it in the hen house.

Inside their 'patio' area they have a dust bath area which also disinfects their feathers and keeps them free of little mites,
whilst in the actual hen house there is plenty of fresh water and feed so they can just help themselves and comfy, semi-private areas to lay their eggs.

A normal laying hen will lay one egg each day with a day off every now and then.  The quality of the egg improves as they start getting older and their bodies get used to the hormonal changes they go through from 'teenage' hens to mature young ladies! You could say they have a 'henstral cycle'!
The Happy Egg Company follow strict environmental and health guidelines for their laying flocks diligently recording the yields compared to the feed and living conditions.  These hens get the most intense feeding regime of the best chicken feed which is all made 'in house' to exacting specifications.

Before meeting the flock we were dressed in fetching gear and along with cameras went to the first hen house. (You will notice I am not showing me in this fetching outfit.)
We stood in a large open field with one of the flocks and it was a really enjoyable experience. They have a natural curiosity and were soon mingling around us.
The only thing that bothered them was when an airplane flew overhead and they all turned tail and ran back into their shelter only to re-emerge a few moments later when the 'threat' was gone!

I have had a really busy stressful life lately however standing inside of the hen house, listening to the happy 'mumble' and the excited laying noises I felt the most wonderful calmness I have had in a long time.  I could have just sat there for hours soaking up all the happy, contented atmosphere, sitting with 'the girls' and maybe even clucking a bit to myself!

Following our farm tour we were treated to a wonderful meal produced by Jackson & Rye which of course featured The Happy Egg Co eggs in each course.
Canapes were Devilled Eggs
Our starter was Jackson & Rye egg Florentine and truffle Hollandaise sauce
Followed by a main course called Huevos rancheros but with poached eggs (sunny eggs, chorizo, avocado, spiced beans on a corn tortilla with a chipotle & tomato salsa and home style potatoes).
Our pudding was Jackson & Rye's signature pecan tart served with maple syrup rippled creme fraiche
Tired and full up we departed home with our box of The Happy Egg Co eggs and a new knowledge and understanding of 'happy hens'!


If you are interested to read some other accounts of the day see what my colleagues had to say:-

Kevin Chambers-Paston of The Crafty Larder writes about his Scotch Egg following his visit.
Travels for Taste, Manjiri Chitnis learned loads about the life and times of a happy hen!
Alex Ryder of Gingey Bites became knows as The Hen Whisperer after learning how to pick up a hen!

I was an invited guest of The Happy Egg Co and am not required to write a positive post.  All photos are my own.



15 comments:

  1. Visiting a poultry farm must have been interesting. Nothing can beat the taste of country eggs with orange yolks. Poached Huevos Rancheros look inviting :)

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    1. I love being so close to nature - so pure and inviting

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  2. That sounds like a great trip. I love eggs straight from the hen and the happier the hen the better the eggs. GG

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    1. These are certainly happy hens, I loved the sound of their mumblings!

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  3. Lovely round up Heidi and I loved meeting you. It was such a fun day wasn't it :-) Gingey (aka the chicken whisperer) x

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    1. You will always be the chicken whisperer to me! Great to meet you.

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  4. Aw what a FAB experience Heidi... it's great to see a food company taking animal welfare so seriously :-)

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    1. It was a truly wonderful day out - I loved the hens enormously!

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  5. I spent summers on my grandparent's farm and looked after the hens. I followed this into adulthood by keeping backyard hens in Edinburgh until about four years ago. They are the most wonderful creatures and so much smarter and braver than folklore credits them. Some of my happiest recent memories are of watching our ex-batts experience their first dust bath and learn to socialise without fighting with each other. It really miss them so much. It's good to know the the Happy Egg Company treats their girls so well. They certainly look happy indeed! And what fab food supplied by them too. :-)

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  6. My dad keeps chickens and they really are the most sweetest of creatures, I love their feistiness and inquisitive nature. Very cute that they all ran in when they heard the aeroplane.

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  7. What a fabulous day out this was, Thanks to the Happy Egg co for showing us around and am so happy that their 'girls' are so pampered! - Manjiri - travelsfortaste

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  8. This just sounds like such a fascinating afternoon!

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  9. What a wonderful experience, it certainly sounds like the hens are indeed treated well and look very happy.

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  10. Sounds like you had a fantastic day out. I could feel and see how happy the hens are just by looking at your photos. All the egg dishes look delicious as well. Love eggs especially when they are laid by happy hens. :)

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  11. Thank you for your nice post. It is really wonderful. Shop for organic products Fuzzy International.

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