Pastured Eggs — Why Ours Come From Hens on the Move

For years, Hunter Natural has been about two things done properly: grass-fed beef and grass-fed lamb. We've now brought a third into the family — pastured eggs.

They fit us perfectly. Same idea, smaller animal: raise healthy, happy stock the natural way, look after the land while you're at it, and let the quality take care of itself.

What "pastured" actually means

"Free range" sounds good, but it can legally mean thousands of hens per hectare on a fixed range that long ago turned to bare dirt. The doors open, but there's not much left out there to range on.

Pastured is a different standard. Our hens are stocked at fewer than 1,500 hens per hectare and live on pasture 24/7, in roaming shelters that we move regularly onto fresh ground. Every move gives them clean grass underfoot, new ground to explore, and a rest for the paddock they've just left. There are no chemicals or hormones — just hens, grass and sunshine, tended by hand here in the Upper Hunter.

It's the poultry version of the rotational grazing we use for our cattle and sheep — holistic, planned grazing on a smaller, feathered scale. The animals do their work, then move on, and the land recovers behind them. A guardian dog lives with the flock and keeps watch, so the hens can range in peace.

Hens being hens

Out on pasture, our hens get to do everything a hen is built to do:

• Scratch and forage for insects, worms and seeds
• Eat green grass — the thing that makes the yolks so deeply golden
• Dust-bathe in the dirt to keep clean and healthy
• Roam and sunbake in the open, with shelter close by

A hen that lives like this is a healthier, happier bird. And a healthier, happier bird lays a genuinely better egg — firm whites, a rich golden yolk, and real flavour. Once you've cracked a proper pastured egg into the pan, the supermarket version never quite looks the same again.

They help run the farm

Here's the part we love. Our hens don't just live on a regenerative farm — they help run one.

As they range across a paddock, they spread fertility naturally, scratch through and break up manure, and eat insects and pests that would otherwise bother our cattle and sheep. They're another living link in the fertility loop we're always trying to build — right alongside the grazing herd, the flock and our worm farm.

Nothing on this farm works alone. The cattle, the sheep, the worms and now the hens all feed the same circle.

The perfect add-on

Plenty of our customers fill the freezer with a whole, half or quarter beast. A box of pastured eggs is the natural companion to that order — stock the fridge while you stock the freezer, and pick it all up (or have it delivered) in one go.

Our pastured eggs come in a box of 15 dozen (180 eggs) — our best value, and the ideal companion to a whole, half or quarter beast.

Get some

Our pastured eggs are available now. Order your eggs here, add a box to a beef or lamb order, or get in touch if you'd like to know more.

From our paddock to your kitchen — eggs the way they should be.