Vegans and backyard eggs.

[Codeine]

I've been a vegan since early 1989, and I've never slipped (knowingly, I'm sure some stuff has slipped by via careless or dishonest restaurant employees) and eaten an egg or other animal product during that time. Occasionally people raise the topic of keeping my own hens and getting my eggs that way, and I've never really had an answer to that.

So, fellow DU vegans, how do you guys feel about eating eggs from your own yard? Assuming well-cared-for hens (and I'm confident nobody here would ever treat their animals with anything but utmost care) would you be willing to incorporate eggs back into your diet? For me the question is purely theoretical because I hate the smell of chickens and I don't currently have a yard, but I'm still really a bit baffled and intrigued by the moral question this raises.

[flvegan]

1. No thanks.

At my last residence there was a neighborhood chicken. She always felt safe in our yard and would often lay eggs in a little nest she'd build around the side of the house. When I'd find them, I'd take them to my neighbor that owned the chicken and he'd eat them. I was never tempted. I'm not going to preach at anyone, but I'm just not interested in putting that crap in my body. I like having a clear mind about my diet and knowing that my nutrition is sound.

Eating backyard eggs would be to me like smoking pot. I don't eat animal products and I don't do drugs. That's my choice, and I wouldn't begrudge someone that rescued a chicken from somewhere keeping her around safely and eating whatever eggs she produced just like I could care less if someone smoked a harmless "drug" like pot. Just not for me.

[Codeine]

2. I think I'm inclined to agree.

Veganism seems to be tied into my straightedge tendencies, I suppose.

[Ignis]

3. I'll answer with a rights-based AR question:

Do you think you have the right to "keep" chickens as a means of producing food?

If yes, then eat up!
If not, then eschew eggs.

I was asked recently if I would (as an weaned adult) drink human breast milk from a willing participant. Personally, I wouldn't find it necessary from either a nutritional or an aesthetic/taste standpoint, so my own answer is "no." But assuming that the women in question have freely given their milk for this purpose, that takes the moral/rights question out of the equation--because a human can consent to doing so, while a chicken cannot.

Here's hoping we have more "deep thoughts" discussions in this group forum; I find them quite interesting. :hi:

[Boudica the Lyoness]

4. I'm a vegetarian

I have been since 1974. The reason I eat eggs is because I know our chickens don't care if I do. I have a small flock (10) of Rhode Island Reds and this really pretty exotic type rooster that came with them. This type of hen does not get broody and if I don't grab the eggs quick they will destroy them.

My girls get to go wherever they want but keep close to home. Our dog (when she's awake and outside) is on the lookout for hawks and other predators and the rooster has taken on a coyote and won! They are fun to have and keep the snakes away. At bedtime they put themselves to bed. One hen, who's name is Henrietta, is very tame and is always at the door wanting a special treat. She is at home in the kitchen with me and gets to eat in peace from the other hens there. (She keeps to the floor and has never pooped when in the house).

The hens don't lay as often as they used to and will live out their lives happily here. I have two mallard ducks. They can fly but they are like the chickens, they stay close to home. I can't imagine not having my herd of birds follow me around when I'm out in my garden. You should see the ducks when I'm digging! Every lump of soil gets sorted through as they search for worms. I feel so bad for the worms. After it rains, the ducks are all over the place gobbling up worms. Like I said, they can leave any time but they are happy to be here. At night the ducks go into their run and we shut the door to keep them safe and they are let out first thing in the morning.

The chickens don't smell because they are out and about all day but their hen house gets a bit stinky.

[Flaxbee]

5. I would have no problem with eggs, dairy, or other "non-flesh" animal products IF

I knew the animals had been raised humanely, with care and respect and their eggs or milk were produced by non-stressed animals in their normal course of existence.

So, if I raised the chickens they would be treated with all the love and care and respect due our fellow creatures. If they laid eggs, I'd eat them. No problem whatsoever. But that might be because I have an absolute crushing weakness for eggs and cheese. The only thing that stops me from eating them is the fact that our animal-food industry is barbaric.

[ginnyinWI]

6. I'm on a plant-based diet for my health, so no whole eggs please.

I will bend to the occasional egg white as an ingredient in, say, mayonnaise, as long as the percentage is low. Food from animals damages the arteries and increases the risk of cancer, and it isn't only the fat part. It is also the animal protein part.

http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2011/05/forks_over_knives_documentary.html

[WillParkinson]

7. Paul and I talked about it...

I won't say I wouldn't be tempted as my main reason for not eating eggs is how the chickens are treated. That said, though, having not had eggs for the longest time I doubt I would do it. (Even if I would like to have a hen as a companion again...)