Yes, I realize I ask more for my eggs than you would spend at Walmart and normally I would just say "Feel free to purchase them there." But not today. Today I will tell you what you are also purchasing when you buy factory eggs.
Let's start at the beginning. Factory chickens are a cross breed. Mine are a heritage breed. Before you call me a chicken snob, let me tell you a little about what this means. My eggs are a by-product of my efforts to improve and preserve our old fashioned breeds. Walmart eggs are not. The end product there is the egg, not the chicken. I raise all my chicks, select the ones that will be the best contributors to improving the breeds I have chosen, and sell the remaining hens to others as layers. The boys are also kept to maturity and eaten. When a Walmart chicken is hatched it is put in front of a sorter. This person will sort the chicks by sex. Females are placed in a brooder to grow into layers. Males are put into large plastic bags into which a pipe pumps carbon dioxide. These chicks are killed and incinerated. That is what you purchase when you pay for Walmart eggs.
My chickens grow up on dirt. Run in the sun. Eat bugs. Walmart chickens are raised in closed bio secure buildings. That is what your Walmart dollar buys.
My chickens grow to adulthood in uncrowded conditions. They hop into nest boxes when they want to lay an egg. They scratch and dig in their bedding in the barn. They roll in dirt. They run and chase. Walmart chickens are called battery hens. They live in a building in a small wire pen by themselves with a place to eat and drink. They stand on wire all their lives. They can eat and drink and poop where they stand. That is what you support with your Walmart dollar.
My hens lay eggs throughout their lives. I have had chickens seven years old and still laying! Their bodies rest in the winter and begin to produce eggs again in the spring. Battery hens burn out quickly. They lay year round. When their laying days are up they are destroyed and new hens take their place. This usually happens before the age of two. This is what your Walmart dollar purchases for you.
So yes, you can buy pale flavourless eggs at the Walmart or other grocery stores for $2 or less, but remember, you are buying a whole lot more than just those dozen eggs.
Let's start at the beginning. Factory chickens are a cross breed. Mine are a heritage breed. Before you call me a chicken snob, let me tell you a little about what this means. My eggs are a by-product of my efforts to improve and preserve our old fashioned breeds. Walmart eggs are not. The end product there is the egg, not the chicken. I raise all my chicks, select the ones that will be the best contributors to improving the breeds I have chosen, and sell the remaining hens to others as layers. The boys are also kept to maturity and eaten. When a Walmart chicken is hatched it is put in front of a sorter. This person will sort the chicks by sex. Females are placed in a brooder to grow into layers. Males are put into large plastic bags into which a pipe pumps carbon dioxide. These chicks are killed and incinerated. That is what you purchase when you pay for Walmart eggs.
My chickens grow up on dirt. Run in the sun. Eat bugs. Walmart chickens are raised in closed bio secure buildings. That is what your Walmart dollar buys.
My chickens grow to adulthood in uncrowded conditions. They hop into nest boxes when they want to lay an egg. They scratch and dig in their bedding in the barn. They roll in dirt. They run and chase. Walmart chickens are called battery hens. They live in a building in a small wire pen by themselves with a place to eat and drink. They stand on wire all their lives. They can eat and drink and poop where they stand. That is what you support with your Walmart dollar.
My hens lay eggs throughout their lives. I have had chickens seven years old and still laying! Their bodies rest in the winter and begin to produce eggs again in the spring. Battery hens burn out quickly. They lay year round. When their laying days are up they are destroyed and new hens take their place. This usually happens before the age of two. This is what your Walmart dollar purchases for you.
So yes, you can buy pale flavourless eggs at the Walmart or other grocery stores for $2 or less, but remember, you are buying a whole lot more than just those dozen eggs.
I wish there was a disclaimer on those factory egg cartons so people actually know what they are supporting. I've learned that the baby roosters are thrown (literally) into a grinder and turned into "mechanically seperated chicken". My kids won't touch chicken hot dogs for fear that they are made from baby roosters! 
