Happy Healthy Hens
We have been raising hens for 20 years and we know that the health of the hens and the happiness of the hens are extremely interconnected. A happy hen, free from stress, allowed to move around and exhibit their natural behaviours makes for a much healthier bird. A healthy bird that is fed the proper nutrition, given access to clean water and is kept clean with lots of fresh grass in the summer or fresh bedding in the winter is a happier bird.
Everything we do is designed to promote the health and happiness of the hens and all of the animals on our farm.
In the late spring the hens are moved into outdoor movable shelters with attached ranges, where they will live until the late fall. These shelters and ranges are moved every day onto fresh grass. Here they can eat the fresh grass and scratch and dig for bugs, grubs and worms. Their ranges are covered with tin roofs so that they are protected from birds of prey, strong rain and the hot summer sun. They are provided with lots of nesting boxes, perches where they can rest and relax, clean water and nutritious certified organic feed. In both summer and winter their eggs are collected by hand multiple times per day in a calm and quiet manner in order to ensure as little stress in their environment as possible.
In the winter our hens are moved indoors where they can be protected from our cold Alberta winters. The hens live inside a warm barn that has lots of windows where they are given plenty of natural sunlight. This allows them to bask in the sunlight and helps them maintain their normal rhythms of day and night. In the darkest months of the year we provide them with the same amount of light as the summer. We do not use artificial lighting programs to try and create more days in a year so that they will lay more eggs. Wood shavings are spread in the barn by hand in order to ensure that they have clean bedding. They are allowed to lay their eggs in nesting boxes that are placed throughout the barn and are given perches where they can rest. Water is spaced throughout the barn so they are always close to water. We add dried organic alfalfa grass to their feed in both the winter and the summer. This ensures that they get their greens throughout the year.
We strongly believe that animals should be treated with respect and that they have the right to a life as stress free as possible. We believe that this is healthier for them and also healthier for us.
We are proud to sell you our eggs because we know they have come from happy hens.
Your Farmers
Ron and Sheila Hamilton
Our eggs are available at all of our own locations in Edmonton and Calgary
- Sunworks Farm
