Eggs

[CrazyCatLady]

Ok, hear me out. I know this is similar to a question I know most vegan's are asked by omnis...but for me there is a difference.
If you REHOMED chickens from a shelter, and they laid...what would you do with the eggs? Would you eat them? Give them away? Bin them? Leave them for the chickens to nest on?
For me this question is different to buying my own chickens...which are a likely result if factory farming...the makes have been killed, and I am left with some of the females. But to adopt them from an animal shelter is not for my own gain for the eggs. The intent would be to give the hens a new and loving home.
Opinions? Xxx

 

[AeryFairy]

For these kind of questions, I always think in terms of "what is ethical" rather than "what is vegan". Adopting a chicken from a shelter isn't supporting factory farming, that's true. Eating an egg or two in this case isn't supporting animal cruelty. For some vegans, the issue isn't just the cruelty, though - it's that animal products or animals are not ours to use in any situation. I disagree somewhat - I think sometimes, humans and other animals can work together for a mutually beneficial relationship, where neither is exploited (like those smaller fish that eat the bacteria off of the bigger fish. Big fish gets cleaned, small fish gets a meal).

However, I think in situations like this, there are other ethical uses for the eggs. It's really good for the chickens to feed their eggs back to them - it helps them to regain calcium they're usually lacking. You could also give them to neighbors that would usually buy eggs, to stop them from supporting the mass produced kinds.

 

[Lord Snot]

I agree with Aery. If I did have rescue chickens I would give the eggs to my mum and other people who I know will never stop buying eggs. I wouldn't be entirely happy with it because I'd be promoting the idea that eggs and other animal products are ours to eat, but IMO it's the lesser of two evils.

 

[Envy]

However, I think in situations like this, there are other ethical uses for the eggs. It's really good for the chickens to feed their eggs back to them - it helps them to regain calcium they're usually lacking

Wouldn't you just give them the shells then?

 

[SummerRain]

I'd eat them. It wouldn't be vegan but I don't think it'd be unethical.

I don't believe it is right to use animals for our own benefit, and ultimately I don't believe we should have domesticated animals that we've bred to be reliant on us and to benefit us (i.e. by over producing eggs, being docile, etc). But in the here and now, rescuing a hen doesn't contribute to that at all - whereas buying your own, or breeding your own would.

I don't really buy the "there are better uses for the eggs" thing. Firstly because just because there are MORE ethical things to do, doesn't make it unethical not to do them. I can spend £5 on a magazine, or give it to charity, but just because I don't give it to charity doesn't make it unethical for me to buy a magazine. In the same way, I could give the eggs away, but that doesn't make it unethical for me to eat them.

Secondly because I don't really buy the "maybe if I give people these eggs, they will buy less from the shop" principle. (Which people also apply broadly to buying second hand non-vegan goods, using up old non-vegan goods or gifts, etc etc etc.) Maybe you'll just make them eat eggs more often. Maybe they never really ate eggs before, and now you're handing them out for free and they've really got into them. Maybe then when your hen dies they'll buy twice as many eggs from the shop.

Now I don't think that will probably happen, but my point really is I don't think you can predict whether your actions will stop other people from buying certain things, or will change the impact other people have on the world. That's not something you can second guess. Maybe giving my eggs away will make people buy less eggs, but I wouldn't count on it. I don't think it's a sound enough principle on which to stop yourself doing something you might want to do, and in my mind, has no unethical consequences.

I guess sometimes it seems to me like people invent reasons why, in situations like this, you shouldn't eat the eggs, rather than just say "yeah okay, in that narrow set of circumstances, it would be fine to do it if I wanted to" even if that means you're not a vegan anymore.

 

[ledboots]

As a vegan I wouldn't eat the eggs. What the chickens didn't eat, I would give to the food bank or to neighbors.

 

[thefadedone]

As a vegan I wouldn't eat the eggs. What the chickens didn't eat, I would give to the food bank or to neighbors.

Same here. Not just because I'm vegan though, but also because I find eggs absolutely repulsive.

 

[Lord Snot]

I guess sometimes it seems to me like people invent reasons why, in situations like this, you shouldn't eat the eggs, rather than just say "yeah okay, in that narrow set of circumstances, it would be fine to do it if I wanted to" even if that means you're not a vegan anymore.

People don't "invent" the idea that animals and their secretions are not ours to use and consume as we please. It's kind of a cornerstone of veganism, which a lot of us subscribe to. Why is that so hard to believe?

Secondly because I don't really buy the "maybe if I give people these eggs, they will buy less from the shop" principle. (Which people also apply broadly to buying second hand non-vegan goods, using up old non-vegan goods or gifts, etc etc etc.) Maybe you'll just make them eat eggs more often. Maybe they never really ate eggs before, and now you're handing them out for free and they've really got into them. Maybe then when your hen dies they'll buy twice as many eggs from the shop.

Well, I don't buy THAT

Most people are pretty regular in their food habits. We tend to buy the same amount of bread, milk, drinks and other staples each week. If someone buys 6 eggs a week and I begin giving them 6 eggs a week free, they aren't going to increase their consumption to 12 a week. Cost is rarely an issue in deciding how many eggs omnis eat as they are so cheap.

 

[SummerRain]

People don't "invent" the idea that animals and their secretions are not ours to use and consume as we please. It's kind of a cornerstone of veganism, which a lot of us subscribe to. Why is that so hard to believe?

It's not. It's not hard to believe that people think animal products belong to an animal and you shouldn't take them away, although I don't believe that.

It is hard to believe the reasons I posted about are enough to make it unethical to eat eggs from a rescue chicken. I.e. that because it might stop other people from buying eggs, it's wrong to eat them yourself. Or because it's good for chickens to eat their own eggs, it'd be wrong to eat one yourself. It just doesn't make sense to me to move from "it'd be better to do this" to "it's wrong not to".

Well, I don't buy THAT

Nor do I. "Now I don't think that will probably happen, but my point really is I don't think you can predict whether your actions will stop other people from buying certain things, or will change the impact other people have on the world...Maybe giving my eggs away will make people buy less eggs, but I wouldn't count on it. "

It just doesn't make sense to me to declare something unethical based on the assumed response of other people to your actions. It's too far removed from what you can control. There's too many maybes. I'm not saying it wouldn't be a good thing to do, but I don't think it's a valid reason to think that eating eggs from a rescue hen would be wrong.

 

[ledboots]

A vegetarian nurse at work kept hens, and she would bring in eggs for free. She was always looking for egg crates to put them in because the coworkers she gave the eggs weren't buying more store eggs, so the supply of crates dipped. I think those people bought less eggs, and her chickens and rooster were rescues, so I hope she did some good. Some of the eggs were different colored, like blue and green, a crazy breed of chicken I guess...

 

[CrazyCatLady]

I think if I didn't think it was gross then I would eat them.
I don't think that they 'belong' to the hens. They are waste. It would be like using your own animals manure. It's waste, the animals don't need it anymore xxx

 

[Envy]

It's a tad bit weird when you reflect upon what eggs really are.

 

[ledboots]

I think if I didn't think it was gross then I would eat them.
I don't think that they 'belong' to the hens. They are waste. It would be like using your own animals manure. It's waste, the animals don't need it anymore xxx

The eggs are good for the chickens to eat. There is lots of calcium in the shell, and protein in the albumin. Humans have bred hens to lay lots and lots of eggs, which is hard on the chicken nutritionally, so letting them eat some eggs helps them.

 

[Lord Snot]

It's not. It's not hard to believe that people think animal products belong to an animal and you shouldn't take them away, although I don't believe that.

It is hard to believe the reasons I posted about are enough to make it unethical to eat eggs from a rescue chicken. I.e. that because it might stop other people from buying eggs, it's wrong to eat them yourself. Or because it's good for chickens to eat their own eggs, it'd be wrong to eat one yourself. It just doesn't make sense to me to move from "it'd be better to do this" to "it's wrong not to".

I don't think I've seen anyone say it's unethical to eat rescue hens' eggs because there are other alternatives that might benefit the animals more - if anyone here does think that, please correct me. How I read it is people saying no, it isn't ethical or vegan to eat those eggs, but you will still get the eggs so here are some positive things you can do with them.

 

[SummerRain]

I don't think I've seen anyone say it's unethical to eat rescue hens' eggs because there are other alternatives that might benefit the animals more - if anyone here does think that, please correct me. How I read it is people saying no, it isn't ethical or vegan to eat those eggs, but you will still get the eggs so here are some positive things you can do with them.

I wasn't responding to anybody in particular. I was just saying what I thought in general.

 

[mlp]

I do have chickens and ducks.

I agree it isn't vegan to eat eggs, but then I don't call myself vegan. In my interactionw with nonhuman animals, I try to decide what is ethical, instead of what is vegan. (IMO and IME, not all vegans behave ethically towards specific nonhumans, but that's another subject entirely.)

I don't think it's unethical to use a product or byproduct of an animal - it is how the animal is treated that's important.

For a while, I ate some of the eggs laid by my chickens and ducks. I no longer do, but that's not because I find it unethical - rather, I came to a point where I found them unappetising.

I feed my parrots scrambled egg about once a week. The rest of the eggs I incorporate into the dogs' diet.

I feed the shells to the chickens. I don't feed them the egg itself, because a high protein diet just encourages more laying, and I try to minimize their laying for their health. They get sufficient protein from chasing and eating insects, and foraging is a healthy activity.

 

[Lord Snot]

I wasn't responding to anybody in particular. I was just saying what I thought in general.

I was talking in general too.

 

[thefadedone]

A vegetarian nurse at work kept hens, and she would bring in eggs for free. She was always looking for egg crates to put them in because the coworkers she gave the eggs weren't buying more store eggs, so the supply of crates dipped. I think those people bought less eggs, and her chickens and rooster were rescues, so I hope she did some good. Some of the eggs were different colored, like blue and green, a crazy breed of chicken I guess...

That would freak me out! The green would remind me of mold and the blue would make me think of robins' eggs.

 

[mlp]

There are several different species of chicken who lay blue/green eggs. We're just so used to white eggs, and to a lesser extent brown eggs, because the species that have been bred to maximize egg *production* are the only ones whose eggs we are used to seeing in grocery stores. I know people who refuse to eat brown eggs because they think they're odd.

Eggs are so aesthetically pleasing to the eye, aren't they? They are just perfect shapes.

 

[AeryFairy]

There are several different species of chicken who lay blue/green eggs. We're just so used to white eggs, and to a lesser extent brown eggs, because the species that have been bred to maximize egg *production* are the only ones whose eggs we are used to seeing in grocery stores. I know people who refuse to eat brown eggs because they think they're odd.

Eggs are so aesthetically pleasing to the eye, aren't they? They are just perfect shapes.

UK ones are brown, the white ones look to me like they've been produced in a lab Never heard of blue or green eggs coming from a chicken, though.