Local back-up egg supply.
These are NOT organic fed/certified organic or pasture-raised.
They ARE CAGE-FREE, raised in open sided, super clean, spacious, comfortable layer buildings and fed a natural, custom formulated diet that is milled locally.
They are raised very well (this is not a CAFO). They are local, but they are conventionally raised.
They moved operations indoors during the recent avian flu outbreak. They are primarily a hatchery and certify that their ducks/eggs are free from common diseases, including avian flu. Part of their biosecurity program is to keep the ducks indoors.
Nutritionally, these are not as nutrient dense and the omega profile is not the same as the 100% pasture-raised duck eggs that we normally get and prefer, but those are currently unavailable. Our usual back-up for local organic (but not pasture-raised) duck eggs are also unavailable at the moment, so we brought these in on the personal recommendation of our raw goat milk supplier. The sells these eggs at the local farmer's market every week. This was the farm he worked with when he had his own pasture-raised duck eggs, many years ago, They do a very good job raising their ducks and the eggs are of high quality.
FROM THE FARM ABOUT THESE EGGS:
"Metzer is now selling duck eggs under the Olinday Farms brand name. These are the same great duck eggs you are used to eating but with a new name. We feel it is important to keep our Metzer Farms' brand focused on day-old ducklings while developing a stand-alone brand for fresh duck eggs. Olin Metzer bought the first flock of ducks in our family over 60 years ago and we wanted to celebrate him and the "all day egg" with Olinday Farms duck eggs.
We have been selling fresh duck eggs for years as many people feel our duck eggs are unbeatable for baking and pastries. In addition, many of those allergic to chicken eggs can often use duck eggs instead. We would consider it prudent to consult with your physician, however, before using duck eggs if you have a severe egg allergy. Our breeder ducks eat base ingredients of soybean and corn in their feed so if this is a concern with your allergies, please take note.
Metzer Farms was started in 1972 by Olin Metzer, John’s father, when he began using ducks to control the snails in his sheep pastures. As time went by, he began selling ducklings to local feed stores and duck eggs to the local Asian market. John came back to the farm in 1978 after graduating from the University of California, Davis to turn his father's hobby into a business.
We utilize the best genetics available and raise our breeders in a more traditional system. Our replacement duck and goose breeders are on pasture as much as possible during rearing. We feel this provides them a maximum amount of exercise and fresh air. All of our growing and layer buildings are open sided and all birds are on the floor - cages are never used.
We continually strive for an environmentally friendly approach on our farm. We have installed solar panels on our newest grower building that will produce 75% of our farm and hatchery's electrical needs and we use our six bicycles for personal transportation around the farm."
