I Have 9 Chickens. This Time of Year, I Buy Eggs at the Store.
Eggs, like so many things, are a seasonal product
People are always surprised when I tell them that I have to buy eggs from the grocery store in winter. I have a flock of nine chickens in my backyard. Surely that means fresh eggs year-round?
But eggs are actually a seasonal product: As the days get shorter, chickens left to their own devices will slow their laying and then stop until spring. Since the industrialization of egg farming — which moved chickens indoors into buildings that can be artificially lit year-round — egg season, for humans and industrial laying hens alike, largely doesn’t exist anymore. But it does in my yard and the yards of backyard chicken keepers who still let their hens go “out of lay.” Personally, I think they deserve the vacation.
Though my husband and I are inundated with more eggs than we could ever possibly eat in spring and summer, by the time fall rolls around, I know our days of fresh eggs are numbered. Our hens’ eggs come in shades of chalky white and beige, but also chocolate brown, blue, and olive green. Compared to a $1.99 carton of eggs that are watery and flavorless, these eggs have a firm yellow yolk and taste almost buttery when scrambled.
