Review of Free Range Eggs from Fox Hollow Farm, Fredricktown, Ohio

Fox Hollow Farm is located in Knox County, Ohio, in the rural town of Fredricktown. It's near Mt. Vernon, about an hour north of Columbus. If you're looking for free range eggs, I highly recommend the eggs from Fox Hollow Farm.

I've visited the farm to purchase eggs, although in the summer months you can also buy them at the farmers' market in Mt. Vernon. I recommend going to the farm, though, if you have the chance so you can see for yourself where your eggs come from. When I visited, the farmers were happy to show me around. I got to stand inside the sunny, open henhouse and see where the chickens roost at night and see some hens sitting on nests in nesting boxes filled with straw. I got to see chickens strutting around the yard, pecking the ground, scratching in the dirt, foraging for food the way chickens like to do.

The farmers move the chicken coop every few days so the chickens have fresh bugs to eat from the ground. They explained that they often move the chicken coop to a pasture after the cows have been moved to fresh pasture because then the grass is eaten down low so it's suitable for chickens and lots of bugs can be found in the cow manure. The chickens scratching around on the ground actually spread out the manure and allows it to act as a fertilizer for the pasture. When more grass grows, the cows will be moved back.

I'll be honest, the eggs don't really taste different to me than the eggs I used to buy at the grocery store. For me, though, buying free range eggs was really about treating chickens humanely, not about taste. I think they may be more nutritious than the eggs I used to buy at the grocery store because they yolks are bigger and are orange instead of yellow, which I've read means there are more nutrients.

As of 2011, Fox Hollow Farm charges $4.25 for a dozen eggs. I consider it a good deal. Once I saw those happy-looking chickens, I knew that was something I wanted to support.

Sources:

Fox Hollow Farm. http://www.foxhollowfarmnaturally.com/_sgg/f10000.htm.