What started as a small family farm continues much the same today.

Members of our family have been raising chickens since soon after arriving in Clackamas County, OR in 1852. In 1934 Uncle Tom began providing eggs to hospitals, hotels and grocery stores in the Portland area. Today Willamette Egg is the only commercial egg farm left in Oregon owned and operated by Oregon families. To a large extent, we attribute our survival to our day-to-day, hands-on involvement with the chickens. We know our hens are more productive when they’re treated with care and are healthy.   In 1945, the average hen laid 151 eggs per year and mortality ran about 40% each year. In those days, chickens were generally housed in a small building and were allowed to run outside where they were constantly on the lookout for predatory animals and birds that found them to be a very tasty meal. They were also exposed to many parasites and diseases that caused them to become sick and often die.

In the early 1950’s, we (as well as most other farms) moved our chickens from the floor to cages and immediately found that they produced more eggs and lived much longer. We also noticed that the eggs were cleaner and the quality improved. Today, as a result of improved genetics, better nutrition, better housing and general management of facilities, the average hen lays 250 – 300 eggs per year and about 6% die each year.   Although the housing and caging of laying hens may appear to limit their freedom, the system is actually designed for the welfare of the birds as well as for production efficiency. When hens are kept in cages, they are prevented from eating each others excrement which can be laden with disease organisms. They are also protected from the elements (extreme heat and cold) and natural predators (hawks, skunks, dogs, rats, etc.) or other visitors, animals or human, and the diseases they may be carrying.

Housing the hens also makes it possible to control their diet, which results in better-fed hens and eggs of more uniform quality. Scientifically balanced feed insures that the birds are protected from improper or inadequate diets; a vast improvement over the days when hens foraged for food in barnyards or ate household scraps. Chickens, like some other animals often exhibit cannibalistic tendencies. To protect the birds from each other, part of their upper beaks or both lower and upper beaks are trimmed. The beak trimming process is done by a special machine which cauterizes the beak and may be compared to clipping a dog’s claws. Of course, the birds are still able to eat and drink. This procedure is even more important for birds that are not kept in cages.

Cage-Free

We have always placed a high priority in providing what our customers want! In response to a few customer requests, we returned to raising some of our chickens in a cage-free environment in 2002. This part of our business is growing, and we will continue to expand as demand increases.   Eggs laid by hens at indoor floor operations, are sometimes called free-roaming or cage free hens. The hens may roam in a building, or open area, usually in a barn or poultry house, and have unlimited access to food and water. Each system, caged or cage-free, has advantages and disadvantages. While this system allows the chickens more freedom they are also exposed to more disease causing agents (bacteria, like Salmonella, and parasites), they eat a lot more feed and lay fewer eggs. Generally a lot more of the birds die from cannibalism and other causes when they are kept on the floor and in larger groups. It is more expensive to produce eggs in this manner.  

Free-Range Eggs

True free-range eggs are those produced by hens raised outdoors or that have daily access to the outdoors. Due to seasonal conditions, however, few hens are actually raised outdoors. The same advantages and disadvantages in raising cage-free chickens and free range chickens except, they are more at risk of being exposed to diseases like bird flu from wild birds. Some egg farms are indoor floor operations and these are sometimes erroneously referred to as free-range operations. Due to higher production costs and lower volume per farm, free-range eggs are generally more expensive. The nutrient content of eggs is not affected by whether hens are raised free-range or in floor or cage operations.  

Organic Eggs

Organic eggs come from free-range hens that are fed rations with ingredients grown without pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or commercial fertilizers. Egg laying hens, no matter what type of housing system that they are housed in, caged or cage-free, never receive hormones. Due to higher production costs and lower volume per farm, organic eggs are more expensive than eggs from hens that have been fed conventional feed. The nutrient content of eggs is not affected by whether or not the ration is organic.  

Nutritionally Enhanced Eggs

These eggs are created by varying the hen’s diet. Some shell eggs on the market have altered fat content. For most people, dietary fat – especially saturated fat – has a much greater effect on blood cholesterol levels than dietary cholesterol. So, some eggs have reduced saturated fats and increased unsaturated fats. Other eggs are enriched with omega-3 fatty acids, the fats found in fish which are considered to be beneficial. Still other eggs have added vitamins, minerals or carotenoids.

Fertile Eggs

Hens lay eggs whether there is a male chicken (rooster) around or not, but there has to be a rooster to produce fertile eggs. Fertile eggs can be incubated and developed into chicks. Fertile eggs are not more nutritious than non-fertile eggs, do not keep as well as non-fertile eggs and are more expensive to produce. Fertile eggs contain a small amount of hormone from the rooster, but there are no known advantages.

Production

Quality eggs begin on our farms, and we have the most advanced strains of laying hens available. We house our chickens in a controlled, stress-free environment, where each hen eats and drinks as much as she wants, and lays an average of 6-7 eggs a week. Because the chickens are well cared for, they lay eggs that are of excellent quality. We work hard to be sure our hens start off in this healthy environment, with the right kind of lighting, ventilation and feed.

To preserve the exceptional quality of our eggs, we have refrigerated storage rooms that maintain optimum storage conditions for fresh eggs. Eggs are then transported in refrigerated trucks.

Processing

Our processing plants incorporate the latest egg-handling technology to maintain quality and food safety. Electronic candling systems help ensure that our eggs are clean and crack free, and rapid processing on automated equipment helps preserve freshness. Eggs received in the morning are routinely washed, candled, sized, packed, refrigerated and loaded onto delivery trucks.

Delivery

Our commitment to quality control enfolds every aspect of our operations, including our fleet of delivery trucks. To ensure the proper handling of our eggs throughout their journey to your table, we own and maintain all the trucks in our fleet, and all of the drivers are WEF employees. All of our trucks are refrigerated - a crucial tool in maintaining egg quality. Our trucks are on the road in all kinds of weather and at all hours of the day and night, delivering the freshest shell eggs and egg products.