We gathered the answers to some popular questions below. If you can’t find your question below feel free to contact us, and we’ll be happy to help.
What makes your eggs different?
Our eggs are pasture-raised, free range, and above all, fresh. We sell our whole inventory each week at market. All eggs are laid, washed, inspected, and sold within a week. They have a thick white and vivid yolk. We only buy from local family companies. Meanwhile, grocery stores will hold their eggs for weeks or months at a time, significantly decreasing their freshness.
Is there a difference between blue/green eggs and white/brown eggs?
Not at all; egg color depends on the breed. Some breeds lay blue and green. Large producers avoid colorful layers because they produce less. We like the variety.
What color are your egg yolks?
It depends. Yolks color relates to diet. The hens who eat a lot of leafy greens will have orange yolks from beta-carotene. Some farms feed their hens carrots or marigolds to dye their yolks. We worry more about the taste, rather than the color.
I found a red spot in my egg. What is it? Is it safe to eat?
Sometimes a piece of the oviduct will attach to the yolk creating a visible “meat spot.” It’s fully edible and common in farm fresh eggs. Younger hens produce these spots often. We candle our eggs to check for meat spots, but sometimes they slip through.
My egg smells fishy. Is this normal?
A fishy scent means the egg is high in omega-3 fatty acids due to the hens receiving a well-balanced diet. Most hens produce a chemical that neutralizes the scent. Some hens lack the gene.
What does “pasture-raised” mean?
Pasture-raised means our hens have daily access to fresh green pasture. The hens forage for their food like their ancestors, producing tastier and wholesome eggs.
What do you feed your hens?
- 80% corn, barley, wheat, and soy layer mash; fermented for layers
- 18% pasture, bugs, and barley grass
- 2% oyster shells
Where is your feed sourced?
On our farm, we currently source our raw ingredients from Ernst Grain & Livestock in Clear Spring, Maryland. They are an award winning and certified non-GMO farm focused on sustainability. We mill their ingredients ourselves based on the specific diets for each bird species.
Are your hens free range?
Yes, the hens can roam free. Each bird has at least 16 square feet of roaming space. That’s 15 times more than the average layer farm.
What does Non-GMO mean?
Non-GMO means there are no genetically-modified ingredients in our hens’ feed. For example: our feed contains no glyphosate resistant genetically modified corn. However, the use of pesticides/herbicides, and other chemicals may be used on these non-GMO crops. We believe our customers should have a fair understanding of the difference between non-GMO and certified organic.
Do you wholesale your eggs?
Our priority is to our farmers market and on-farm pickup customers. We charge retail for all egg purchases, no matter the quantity. If you are a business looking for farm fresh eggs, you can contact us for an inquiry.
Do you sell meat?
Yes, we are preparing licensure to process meat on our farm. Here’s what we have planned.
– 2023: Thanksgiving Heritage Turkeys
– 2024: Pasture-Raised Rabbit, Chicken, and Quail Meat
What happens to your spent hens?
We haven’t gotten there yet, since we are still a young farm. We plan to give away many of the hens to backyard flocks and schools. Some we will keep as breeders for our future property. Others will have their “one bad day” and be given to shelters for food or for the farmers’ consumption.
How many birds do you have?
We have over 600 birds, including chickens, quail, turkeys, and ducks.
What kind of laying hens do you have?
Red Sex Links, Rhode Island Reds, Buff Orpingtons, Plymouth Blues, Ameraucanas, Easter Eggers, Black Sex Links, and “barnyard mixes.”
Do you sell quail eggs?
Yes we do. Our quail are also pasture-raised. As far as we know, we are the only source of pasture-raised quail eggs in Maryland.
Do you sell hatching eggs?
No, because we don’t have any roosters to fertilize the eggs. Our quail eggs, however, are fertile.
Do you have to refrigerate Birdland Pastures’ eggs?
Yes. We are required to wash our eggs, which removes the outer antibacterial layer. We hope the laws change to allow us to sell unwashed eggs.
How are your eggs “soy free”?
As of September 1st, 2023, our eggs are no longer soy free. We are feeding soy to our hens again to supplement protein as we grow our operation.. However, all of the soy is non-GMO.
Do you debeak your hens?
We personally do not, however we accept hens that are already debeaked into our farm. We prefer fully beaked hens, because bigger beaks means more forage!
What happens to the roosters?
We don’t normally get roosters, since we order all female baby chicks and pullets from the local hatchery. When we do have a rooster, he is culled once he begins to crow. We wish we could keep roosters, but we also want to respect our neighbors. In the future, when we hatch our own eggs, the roosters will be sold for meat with a few becoming breeders.
Do you ever purchase and resell eggs?
When sales expectations exceed our egg inventory, we will obtain eggs from 4 The Girls Farm, located in Parkton, MD. We choose to pay premium prices from local farms, rather than rely on cheap, bulk eggs from produce/dairy auctions. 4 The Girls Farm is a pasture-raised layer farm similar to ours.