Free range vs cage eggs

D and his ladies, back in 2008.

I started getting to know chickens on a more personal level after D started keeping some. They are such beautiful and amazing animals. Simple yet intelligent and incredibly amusing.

They have such soothing soft clucking noises that had a calming effect on me. When they decide to have a good old dust bath in the sun, you'll see feathers and dust going everywhere. They'll run to me when they see me (I'm not delusional, I know it's only because they think I have food, not because they love me). And to a certain extent, they're such peace-loving, timid little creatures that choose to freeze and cower when they sense danger. How could you harm something like that?

I have always tried to steer clear of cage eggs because of the documentaries I've watched and articles I've read that detail just how cruelly hens are treated in these "farms" (they're more like a factory, really. A windowless, dark and crowded factory). But getting to meet and rear these gentle little ladies have made me even more determined to buy free range.

Free range eggs are a little dearer, but when you watch clips such as this, you really can't buy cage.