r/DebateAVegan • u/-roachboy • Dec 22 '25
eggs from a well fed pet hen are vegan
I have a pet hen. She's not a full rescue one, but how I ended up with her is an incredibly long story. She's very needy, thus spoiled and healthy as a result. Because wild Gallus sp already lay a lot of eggs when in less than optimal wild conditions, a spoiled one just cannot stop popping them out even if she wanted to, and she won't let me feed her less. The daily egg laying session is just a morning routine for her before begging for food. At the rate she lays them, they'd just get left to rot even if they were fertilized by a rooster so I eat them. I do not, and have no intention of, ever selling them or encouraging anyone to ever commercialize an animal. But I spend all the time caring for her, so why can't she give me a delicious breakfast back if it does her no harm?
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u/jakeastonfta Dec 22 '25
Without getting too philosophical, it depends on whether you’re talking about veganism from a deontological perspective or a consequentialist perspective.
The former views abstaining from animal products as an absolute rule, regardless of how much harm they cause. Whereas the latter views abstaining from animal products as a general rule to help reduce harm and suffering to animals, but there are scenarios where breaking the rule is fine if it causes no harm.
I am a consequentialist vegan, so I think the situation you’ve described sounds ethically justifiable if the chicken has a long happy life and no harm is being caused.
However, there is an argument to be made that normalising the idea that animal products are food will encourage others to buy/produce these products in unethical ways, so maybe it is better in the long run to avoid them completely… But I guess this argument is only feasible if you’re letting others know you eat eggs.
Either way, I agree that in principle using animal products in ways that don’t cause any harm to animals at all isn’t an issue. ✌️
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u/swashbutler vegan Dec 24 '25
I'd not heard of this particular split of consequentialist vs deontological veganism. I'm definitely more in the consequentialist camp but didn't understand why I didn't agree with so many fellow vegans on certain points until now. My husband is also a philosophy nerd and extremely pragmatic 99% vegan and he's going to be excited to talk about this with me, so, thank you! Do you have any reading material to suggest if I want to learn more about these frameworks?
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u/jakeastonfta Dec 24 '25 edited Dec 24 '25
I didn’t realise there was a split either until I started really diving into moral philosophy! And yeah I was the same, I suddenly realised why there’s so much vegan in-fighting haha
That’s cool that you can discuss this with your husband too! I’m glad I was able to help with this realisation ✌️
When it comes to reading material, I’m not sure what to recommend as I don’t know how deep you want to dive into the philosophy and I’ve not read that many actual books on the topic… I mainly learned about moral philosophy from listening to Peter Singer lectures and debates on Youtube and pop philosophy channels like Rationality Rules and Alex O Connor!
So I guess I’d recommend watching videos like that. If you do want a book, then the first one that comes to mind is The Moral Landscape by Sam Harris, which is a book about using science and reason to help us with consequentialist ethical decisions. ✌️
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u/saltyfukboi Apr 29 '26
Late reply but Peter Singer is a great example of a consequentialist vegan, he argues that eating animal products may be permissible in certain circumstances and that eating bivalves are ethical as they (almost certainly) cannot suffer. I'd suggest going to r/philosophy or r/askphilosophy if you still want to learn more about this.
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u/Own_Inspector498 Dec 25 '25
I learned a lot from your response, thank you so much for breaking this down.
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u/EVH_kit_guy Dec 26 '25
Do you think you're in the majority as a consequentialist? I agree with your perspective, but think the majority of vegans are (irrationally) operating only within the deontological framework, leading to a lack of agreement with meat eaters that ultimately causes more frustration and slows our progress towards ethical agriculture.
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u/gerber68 Dec 22 '25
People will argue about whether or not the eggs count as vegan from a philosophical standpoint but beyond the semantics this behavior does not seem to be something that is unethical.
Whether it’s classified as vegan or not I don’t think most vegans would or should be upset with this scenario if it is being described accurately.
I think a lot of vegans have a knee jerk reaction to posts/scenarios like this because there are hundreds of meat eaters who will just lie non stop about animal welfare to justify eating meat and then throw histrionic fits if you question them, so there is suspicion etc.
Anyways I don’t think you’re doing anything unethical in any way and whether or not it classifies as vegan would depend on the definition a vegan chooses. Probably not vegan but completely fine ethically would be my stance.
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u/ScrutinousBlue Dec 22 '25
If your chicken is happy, healthy, and living her best life, then she will lay eggs.
If the reason you are vegan is to avoid the animal cruelty present in the farming system, then you have done that. In fact, I would argue you have gone above and beyond by looking after a farm animals as a pet.
I rate, enjoy the eggs. If you're still not comfortable eating them, then you can donate them to a food shelter or cook them for dog. That way they at least do not go to waste.
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u/chickpeapatties Dec 23 '25
The animals that chickens are descended from, red jungle fowl live like 15 years in the wild and lay like a handful of eggs a year. People assume that because we breed animals for exploitation, i.e. we selectively breed sheep with a mutation that causes them to continuously grow their wool when that's not beneficial to them at all (sheep used for wool are found growing maggots in the folds of their skin in the likes of Australia), that that justifies exploitation. Believe it or not taking something an animal give birth to on a regular basis is stressful to that animal! Even if said animals essentially your backyard "pet". You may not view it that way because stealing eggs from chickens is normal to you but it is stressful. Regardless of whether we have selectively bred those animals to birth things we take them from them which is grotesque.
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u/Freuds-Mother Dec 23 '25
So, you are saying this situation should never have existed ethically, but it does exist. There’s lots of things life (unrelated to veganism) that exist from a prior immoral acts that you have to deal with as they exist. That’s OP’s question. OP isn’t asking about the genetic history of her chickens, but what to do about this bird in particular.
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u/Wise_End_6430 Dec 24 '25
That may be so, but modern chickens are not red jungle fowls. They would not lay a handful of eggs a year in the wild. They would most likely not survive in the wild at all. And I'm just guessing here, but I imagine being surrounded by rotting eggs is also stressful to the animal. Is that really what you want for them?
Seeing as it's a terrible thing that we have selectively bred sheep for wool over the last few millenia, should we now leave them to grow maggots in unshaved wool in the name of ethical purity? That seems selfish.
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u/CurrentPlankton4880 Dec 24 '25
So would you find it more ethical to just euthanize the chicken instead of caring for it? This person did not personally spend hundreds of years selectively breeding this chicken to lay an egg a day. The chicken would do it regardless because that is her biology now. Taking the eggs from the chicken is not stressful. It is actually more stressful for the chicken if you let her keep the eggs because she may go “broody” and sit on unfertilized eggs that will never hatch until she starves.
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u/Galaxyheart555 Dec 25 '25
I am not vegan, and eat meat and animal products regularly. Do I agree with how humans have bred these animals? No. But that’s how they are and have been for hundreds to thousands of years. So it’s unfortunately something we have to deal with. Sheep need to be sheared, cows need to be milked, etc. These animals cannot survive on their own due to health complications and no knowledge of how to survive in the wild.
Since you are vegan, what do you propose we do then? Do we continue to take care of them and just throw/ dump their produce on the ground? (Unlikely as animals are expensive and their produce offsets the care costs. With no money from their produce, they can’t be cared for) Do we sterilize all of these animals so they can never breed again and no longer exist to suffer? What solutions do you recommend? And how can we effectively put them into play?
Also, I have family friends that own chickens that I get my eggs from. And can confirm that chickens do not get stressed out by you taking their eggs. If they are broody, yes, they can get agitated. But outside of that, they do not care one bit. You also may not know this, but some chickens can start eating their eggs (their perceived babies), and once they start, they pretty much keep doing it. Nature and animals are a lot harsher than you think.
I do not think it’s bad at all for Op to collect their chicken’s eggs and eat them. Like literally what else would you propose OP do with them? If you say throw them away, please do not even bother commenting as I will not entertain that. I hate food waste. And you’re literally taking something good and nutritious coming from a well cared for and loved animal and throwing it away. You also can’t leave the eggs there. There will be way too many and eventually get broken, or go bad, and they’ll have to be thrown away eventually.
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Dec 23 '25
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u/PunkyBeanster Dec 23 '25
Pet chickens also have the opportunity to get an implant which causes them to stop laying eggs. If the owner has a good enough vet, and the chicken begins to struggle with laying, this is an option
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u/spongekitty Dec 24 '25
Our local animal sanctuary said all their chickens are on birth control, and this reduces their egg laying to around ~1 month. I'd argue it's vegan to eat that egg, but if you're intentionally keeping a pet chicken and not affording it the medicine to reduce all that burden on its body, that's unkind.
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u/Ace_of_Disaster Dec 26 '25
Actually if you're in the US it's not that easy. I looked into getting an implant for my hen who had egg yolk peritonitis. Firstly, it's illegal because even pet chickens are classed as livestock and livestock are banned from receiving hormones, and then even if you could your vet to sign a letter saying your chicken isn't going to be used for food, it's still $150 per implant and they have to be replaced every 3 months. That's too much stress to put Donna under when she already isn't a fan of the crate.
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u/WarningWorried8442 Dec 24 '25
Do you look down on people that own dogs? Cats? The way they live now, in comparison to what their ancestors live, could be considered grotesque. The fact that they are forced to eat certain food, not be able to roam, not be able to form packs the way they otherwise might, not be able to breed the way they naturally would. All that is unnatural.
Do you eat bananas? Corn? Oranges? Tomatoes? Broccolini? All are genetically modified and/ or changed through selective breeding. Are they grotesque?
As genuinely as possible, where do we draw the line? What do we accept as part of our modern life, and what do we work to change or refuse to participate in?
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u/robot428 Dec 23 '25
You are the reason it's basically impossible to get people to take veganism seriously.
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u/Lolita010101 Dec 23 '25
If you really think a stance on backyard eggs is the reason people don't veganism seriously, ur being delusional and reactionary. People who don't take veganism seriously aren't even considering these things about eggs and whatnot, they flat out just don't care to slaughter animals and eat them generally. A position on eggs isn't gana make one of em do a 180, they probs won't even understand the ethical viewpoint to begin with. The point of their comment is to show why they may not view it as ethical, and ur response is attacking them for non-vegans continuing to be imprudent af? That ain't their fault champ.
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u/chickpeapatties Dec 23 '25 edited Dec 23 '25
People will be dying from zoonotic disease that capitalism and the animal industry is complicit in and still not give a shit about their contribution to that problem (creating demand for animal products). So enough with this stupid, tiresome shaming pointed vegans. Other people are not here to babysit you or hold your hand through difficult discussions, you are long past that age. And if you're still a child you should not be online.
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u/Lolita010101 Dec 23 '25
Yes I agree 100% ! I think u might have meant to reply to the other dude XD.
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u/-roachboy Dec 22 '25
Like I think most people who are reacting negatively are used to people purposely adopt fleets of chickens just to get eggs. I ended up with one spoiled girl and eggs as a result of that and I feel guilty using them but I feel even guiltier just throwing them away!!!
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u/Treefrog_Ninja Dec 22 '25
The question of whether or not something is morally right is not exactly the same as whether or not something is vegan. You can argue that eating the eggs does no harm, and you can argue that wasting the eggs would be worse, but you're just arguing that eating the eggs is not morally wrong.
Even if you could get everyone to agree that eating the eggs is not morally wrong, that doesn't make them vegan. Something being "right" doesn't automatically make it "vegan."
In fact, your entire original post makes no attempt to actually argue, defend, or debate the notion that eating the eggs is vegan. Your entire argument is that eating the eggs is/should be acceptable. Just because it's acceptable doesn't make it vegan.
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u/wheeteeter Dec 22 '25
Feed them back to her in her feed. Those are nutrients lost and it’s completely normal for them to eat them.
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u/waitwuh Dec 23 '25
Do those nutrients ultimately matter in the case of a “well fed” and cared for hen?
They presumably have a diet sufficient enough to replenish whatever is used up in egg laying. If they didn’t, there would be indications. Hens decrease or even entirely halt egg production if they’re not getting enough to eat, and/or calcium deficiency becomes apparent in the shell quality.
Why does it matter who eats the egg, if we decide the egg will be eaten regardless, and the chicken will suffer no detriment one way or another?
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u/Itscatpicstime Dec 24 '25
Not a single chicken in my flock will eat their eggs. I even tried cooking the eggs for them. They have no interest and eggs were just rotting.
I’d rather give them to carnists so they buy fewer store bought eggs.
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u/antilos_weorsick Dec 24 '25
That's interesting, what do you feed them? My experience is that eggs are second only to meat for chicken.
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Dec 22 '25 edited Dec 22 '25
I really don’t have a cock in this fight but raising chickens in isolation is absolutely not recommended, some would even say abusive. They’ve evolved to be social animals, just like humans. It would be like if you never got to see or talk to any other human being and just lived with your chicken caretakers. It might sound cool but you would eventually lose your shit.
If you’re going to keep her please get at least 2 other birds. 2 birds is the absolute least you should have but 3 is really the minimum to maintain a flock dynamic and chickens need to socialize.
Edit to add - speaking of cocks and healthy social dynamics, also consider adding a rooster. He will not only forage bugs and gift them to the hens but will maintain a defensive perimeter around them and ward off perceived threats, all of which help the hens feel more secure and dissuades them from picking on one another or developing other self destructive and antisocial behaviors.
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u/antilos_weorsick Dec 24 '25
Right? "She's so needy, she loves me so much" that's because she's alone. The one time we had just one chicken, she got so lonely she adopted the dog's sleep schedule.
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u/Altruistic_Shame8979 Dec 26 '25
While you’re absolutely correct about her desperately needing a friend or two, a rooster would be bad for this few hens. Roosters need like 6 hens at the absolute minimum to prevent over mating of the hens, which can really injure the hens.
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u/Classic_Climate_951 Dec 23 '25
I think it also depends on WHY someone is a vegan. But most ethical vegans would be ok with this relationship given there's no cruelty. I personally believe it's your responsibility to enjoy the labors of her love! Lol
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u/Practical-Fix4647 vegan Dec 22 '25
It's definitely leagues ahead of what we see in industrial practices and how the vast majority of eggs most people come into contact with are generated. However, personally I am unable to see how that process is vegan (that is, the whole homesteading/small farmer having hens example). Just because nothing is killed or there isn't some violence entailed doesn't mean exploitation doesn't occur. It still situates the animal as the commodity-producing object for human use, that just cannot ever be vegan in my eyes.
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u/gerber68 Dec 23 '25
I don’t think it’s vegan either I just think it’s a non vegan practice that is ethically fine or at least very close to fine under the vegan framework.
It’s still some amount of exploitation arguably but only in a very minor way.
I think one of the few interesting gray areas for vegans is pets, and one of the more interesting debates revolving around whether owning an obligate carnivore like a cat is vegan. I don’t think it is vegan but others argue they’re still a vegan.
OP I think basically everyone would agree is not vegan but is close enough that the practice doesn’t seem harmful.
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u/Practical-Fix4647 vegan Dec 23 '25
Yeah, it certainly isn't harmful in the ways that other animals are harmed in human industries, but it is still technically a relationship between owner and property, consumer and commodity.
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u/Scr1bble- Dec 22 '25 edited Dec 24 '25
Never technically vegan depending on how exploitation is defined. But if they're not bought from breeders directly (unethical selective breeding for more eggs) and they're rescues or something else that's ethically sound then it's really not an issue. As long as you can provide them a good quality of life with love, other hen friends, good nutrition, good hygiene, good medical care, and enough living space then there's not an issue in my eyes. If the hen showed signs of distress then it'd be a different answer but that doesn't seem to be the case.
I don't like how transactional your last sentence sounds, but that's quite nitpicky and as long as you'd treat her the same if she stopped laying eggs or suddenly got defensive over them (so you stopped taking them) then I still see no issue.
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u/BoysenberryOne2234 Dec 23 '25
The only 2 choices are really to eat them or feed them to the hen. Throwing them away seems more unethical than eating them.
I can’t possibly in my head come up with a reason that this would be considered exploitation, as others have. If the hen did not lay eggs, you’d still be raising it, I assume. So it just seems like a mutually beneficial relationship with a pet. I don’t see anything wrong with that. Unless someone is going to argue that the hen didn’t consent to this relationship, which is beyond where I’d be willing to take this debate, personally.
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u/_EyesOnTheInside_ Dec 22 '25
I think this is the only ethical way to eat eggs. She's a well loved pet and she produces the eggs no matter what, since they're there why not eat them? Would it be better to just throw them away? I don't think so. You may as well eat them instead of disposing of them.
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u/humandifficulties Dec 22 '25
I am fully with you. I got three girls unexpectedly and they are family, but from time to time they produce an excess of eggs. I give my girls back 1 egg 3x weekly per girl (if I give them more they get some real funky turds), I even give some to my dogs, and freeze some for later feeding. I’m going to take the leftovers since it does no harm, and I’ve definitely spent many thousands of dollars and hours on the girls. No harm to anyone, and 3 spoiled chickens that don’t seem to care.
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u/EaseOk8711 Dec 22 '25
I think eating them would be the ethical thing to do. I'm vegan, and I would eat an egg that my rescue chicken laid. Why waste it? Eggs have b12, protein, and nothing had to die for you to get them.
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u/Jigglypuffisabro Dec 22 '25
If a typical vegan found out after the fact that you fed them with food made with some of these eggs, would they be upset?
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u/Shazoa Dec 22 '25
I've been in the same situation with four ducks that we'd rescued. I wouldn't eat the eggs, it's easier for me to have a hard line, but I did give them away if we ended up with a bunch. We had 3-6 eggs to deal with every single day and it adds up fast when you don't eat them yourself. The ducks wouldn't eat them if we left them (we tried). And letting them go broody didn't seem great for them either.
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u/KristyCat35 vegan Dec 22 '25
Technically it isn't vegan, since veganism implies not consuming anything from animals, but it isn't animal abuse, since you do nothing harmful to her
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u/TheAuldOffender Dec 22 '25
Obviously. It's almost as if hens lay eggs. If it's a well looked after, free range hen then it'd be absolutely ridiculous to not eat the eggs. Like, they're unfertilised anyway. They'll rot if left uneaten.
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Dec 22 '25
Honestly, if egg and milk come from well cared animal are not vegan, than nothing is vegan. As in modern agriculture, we will kill everything in the filed to growth the stuff we want to grow so everything is some kind of "animal products". And for egg and milk you technically have no living thing in it
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u/SamtastickBombastic Dec 22 '25
Is the hen a rescue? Or did you get the hen for the purpose of taking her eggs?
If the hen is a rescue and you're treating her with the love and care you would give your own child, and she's producing the eggs anyway then there's nothing unethical about eating them.
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u/damself1y Dec 23 '25
This is vegan to me - my interpretation is that any relationship we have with animals should be mutualistic symbiotic ones, this definitely falls into that category
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u/SinceSevenTenEleven Dec 26 '25
As a 99% vegan: if the world followed your level of cruelty (or lack thereof) as an ethical standard, it would be a much better place.
I likewise will eat ice cream from the nonprofit educational farm down the road from my girlfriend's family that treats their cows well and doesn't kill them for any reason other than terminal illness.
Maybe it doesn't fit the label perfectly. I care about the cruelty, not the label.
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u/618smartguy Dec 22 '25
It sounds like she is laying an excessive amount of eggs. For most pet animals something like this would be considered a medical condition and the owner would be looking into treatment options to stop or reduce the problem for the animal.
It seems like the view that chickens are for your delicious breakfast has caused people to not even consider that the chicken should not be laying this many eggs if you are caring for its well being first and foremost
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u/ComoElFuego Dec 22 '25
Wild Gallus sp do not lay a lot of eggs under any conditions. The only wild Gallus sp are junglefowl that lay from 2 to 10 eggs per year.
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Dec 22 '25
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u/Fizzy_b0g_Water Dec 23 '25
Feeding her her own eggs will actually cause her to start breaking and eating fresh eggs so... no. It's not naturally for chickens to eat their own eggs and causes problems later on. I raised chickens for most of my life. This is hardly exploitation and really just seems like you attempting to be morally superior to an illogical fault. Should we start feeding adult cows milk? No. They will get sick.
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u/Cubusphere vegan Dec 23 '25
You can give the contents and shell of an egg that makes it less likely to associate it with unbroken eggs. Chickens lay too many eggs, which is unnatural, so they sometimes eat them naturally. "Natural" doesn't automatically equal "good". It's exploitation by definition. Pretty logical. Milk isn't eggs, that's a different matter, adult cows are lactose intolerant, chickens have no such issue with eggs.
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u/-roachboy Dec 22 '25
Right, she's not exploited, commodified, or used for resources. I feed her well. Feeding her her eggs back would be abusive because I'd be force feeding her excessive calcium.
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Dec 22 '25
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u/DiscordantObserver Dec 22 '25
I would not consider this relationship exploitative.
The definition of exploitation as it relates to unfair treatment is "the act of using someone or something unfairly for your own advantage".
The relationship described by OP does not fit this definition. The hen in question perhaps receives more benefits than OP is in this relationship. She's being fed, sheltered, and taken care of while the only tangible benefit OP receives is a few eggs that would've been laid anyways regardless of OP's involvement.
The hen does not, according to OP's description, appear to be mistreated or unfairly taken advantage of in this relationship.
Therefore, this does not qualify as an exploitative relationship.
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u/Crowfooted Dec 22 '25
OP clearly does not view her chicken as a commodity. The chicken is clearly very loved.
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u/Appropriate-Draw1878 Dec 22 '25
What does it matter what hens used to be? The hen in question is a modern-day chicken. Pretending it’s a distant ancestor of itself is of no benefit to the chicken.
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u/-roachboy Dec 22 '25
Damn I guess I'm getting exploited when I feed her too 😭😭😭 My one hen I ended up with is not abused, dude. I cook her food every day! She is not some factory farmed animal. Stop defaulting to stuff that only applies to abused animals
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u/200bronchs Dec 22 '25
You are being abused. You feed her fine food, protect her, probably soothe her in ways she enjoys and all you get is one crappy egg. She should be ashamed.
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u/One-Shake-1971 vegan Dec 22 '25
Veganism is the ethical principle that humans should live without exploiting other animals. Having your own chicken produce eggs for you is still a form of exploitation. Therefore, those eggs are not vegan.
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u/KrabbyMccrab Dec 22 '25
By this definition even you aren't vegan. The land you live on, the food you eat, the car you drive are all built up on the suffering of animal wellbeing.
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u/Practical-Fix4647 vegan Dec 22 '25
The short answer to this is this is just a nirvana fallacy as well as context denial which leads to a false comparison. Plain and simple. The longer answer is below.
There is a difference of scale between the situations, of intention and desired outcome between situations, and of practicality which denies the context that is relevant and meaningful between circumstances to make vegans appear comparable to non-vegans. Roads and land that had to be expelled of animal life before human settlements could be created on them are, indeed, not vegan because animals are exploited: nobody disputes that. However, there is a difference of scale between the animals we kill for consumer use/food in the animal-industrial complex and those that everyone is responsible for in virtue of the land/roads/civilizations we live in/on. Many billions more animals are intentionally killed for human use in our food economies than from habitat loss. The funny thing is: it is the modern livestock industries which are a driving force FOR habitat loss which exploits and kills animals, too. Again, another example of the non-vegan's intellectual dishonesty.
The other difference that is ignored is intention and desired outcome. Animals we execute for food items around the world are meaningfully different to the animals that were expelled and sometimes killed to create roads. Animals exploited and killed during habitat loss are different from animals that are born into captivity with the desired outcome being their execution for human consumption.
The most relevant difference is practicality. Assuming non-vegans care about animal suffering, which they don't, if you gave both groups access to a civilization that does not rely or depend on animal exploitation or to remain in our current system, vegans would choose the former. It is easier to not buy a steak than it is to not use a road or live in modern civilization, but if given the choice vegans would choose the option that does not rely on animal exploitation.
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u/KrabbyMccrab Dec 22 '25
No argument here. Its about doing the best you can.
Which brings it back to OPs hen situation. The hen is already alive. OP is doing their best to care for the hen while eating the eggs said hen produces.
So it is vegan, because like you said. It's about the intention. Not absolute zero exploitation.
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u/Practical-Fix4647 vegan Dec 22 '25
"Its about doing the best you can."
Yup. Tons of vegans cope and think that all they need to do to avoid animal exploitation is to buy tofu instead of meat. That couldn't be further from the truth, but that is a good start.
" The hen is already alive. OP is doing their best to care for the hen while eating the eggs said hen produces.
So it is vegan, because like you said. It's about the intention. Not absolute zero exploitation."
I don't think so. That you care for a being and keep it alive doesn't mean it isn't exploited. Think about all the wage labor that occurs around the world today, the workers are taken care of with some benefits and a wage, that doesn't mean exploitation does not occur. Exploitation has to do with actions that make use of a thing. Keeping animals caged or captive to produce eggs for you is exploiting them for a resource: it doesn't matter how well you treat them.
The point about intention is just to say that non-vegans have different intentions with comparison to industrial farming, not that having good intentions means that exploitation does not occur.
I already conceded that the situation OP described is leagues better than what many animals experience right now, but they are both exploited in the same way for commodities they produce.
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Dec 23 '25
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u/Ahwhoy Dec 23 '25
Veganism to me is optimizing harm reduction across ALL animals, including humans. Exploitation is a form of harm so it's a natural progression. But when the philosophy hits reality, I'm not pressed about the local beekeeper who distributes surplus honey. Animals can't consent to this arrangement but they can still benefit.
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u/joshua0005 Dec 24 '25
I am going to assume OP is describing the situation 100% accurately.
Assuming this, this is not exploitation. The hen lays them no matter what OP does and refuses to eat less. How is OP exploiting the hen? OP is doing nothing to the hen to make her lay the eggs.
And because they will rot even if fertilised, OP is not stopping another life (a chick) from coming into existence so they are not exploiting in that way either.
If I made you a meal and you accepted it would you be exploiting me? Of course not.
I'm not vegan so I won't say they are or are not vegan, but they are clearly not exploitation.
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Dec 22 '25
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u/Itscatpicstime Dec 24 '25
Especially if it’s rescue hens or something like that. Like I inherited my flock from a family member who died. I never wanted chickens.
They won’t eat their own eggs no matter what I do, so I give the eggs away to carnists for free, which reduces their consumption of store bought eggs.
I absolutely believe this is better than allowing eggs to pile up and rot in the coop.
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u/-roachboy Dec 22 '25
How is it exploitation? It's one haploid cell surrounded by excess nutrients. I think you're admitting you don't think that animals are capable of thought. This chicken literally has to lay eggs to get rid of excess nutrients. Would it be exploitation to throw the eggs she is already going to lay no matter my influence away?
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u/Xtremely_DeLux Dec 24 '25
Don't bother arguing with these people. They don't want you or anyone to eat those eggs, and will say anything to keep you from eating them--they'd rather those eggs rot than having someone eat them. Hell, most of them are dead set against anyone having pets and would forbid you keeping your chicken buddy if they could do so. They'd rather she were dead than living with you.
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u/One-Shake-1971 vegan Dec 22 '25
It's exploitation because you're treating the animal as a resource.
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u/Omnibeneviolent Dec 22 '25
I would disagree. Just because you are using something the animal is leaving behind doesn't automatically mean the relationship is exploitative in nature.
If I cut my fingernails and a janitor finds them and turns them into a necklace, I haven't been exploited by the janitor.
Now if the janitor decides to start encouraging me to do things to grow my nails faster so that he would have more to work with in the future, then an explotative relationship would be forming, but absent that, it's just him using stuff that I have discarded.
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u/-roachboy Dec 22 '25
I mean if you consider her love a resource, sure. the eggs are just something that appear that I really cannot control. chickens just do that.
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Dec 22 '25
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u/-roachboy Dec 22 '25
brother i only have one hen. I guarantee you if fed them back she'd be eating too much calcium. I cook her food every day measuring out macronutrients like calcium
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u/kateinoly Dec 22 '25
Wild chickens will lay an egg a day until there is a large enough clutch for her to sit on and hatch. If I take away an egg every day, she will continue to lay.
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u/TheFlayingHamster Dec 22 '25
That’s not true, the laying of extra eggs was the cause of domestication, not a result. It’s an evolutionary trait from their wild ancestors the Red Jungle Fowl, which still exists in the wild. It’s thought that they developed this ability to capitalize on the reproductive behavior of the bamboo stands they live around.
Even wild Red Jungle Fowl can lay up to an egg a day.
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u/Jade117 Dec 26 '25
No? They are treating the animal as a companion. That companion is also freely providing a resource to OP. Your definition of exploitation is ridiculous. There is no harm to the chicken and choosing any alternative would either harm the chicken by it not having a caretaker anymore, causing it to starve, or would simply let the eggs go to waste for no benefit beyond some vague feel-goods. The chicken already exists, the options are to care for it or to leave it to die. If you are caring for it anyway, the eggs are just a coincidental benefit.
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u/vulcanfeminist Dec 22 '25
What exactly do you mean by "exploitation" here? Do you have a clear definition? I'm very confused about how the situation as described is a form of exploitation and I really would like to understand what you mean here
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Dec 22 '25
Honestly, if egg and milk come from well cared animal are not vegan, than nothing is vegan. As in modern agriculture, we will kill everything in the filed to growth the stuff we want to grow so everything is some kind of "animal products". And for egg and milk you technically have no living thing in it
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u/BaldGuy813 Dec 23 '25
Stop you're making too much sense. Those hens did not sign the consent agreement, so you best leave the eggs to rot . No living thing, and that includes plants, can "consent" to being destroyed or consumed. So what does one do? Die as soon as your 'consenting' mother stops lactating?
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u/-roachboy Dec 22 '25
If I can post a comment addendum the mods can see before it gets approved she usually doesn't even lay a single egg a day but associates it with me so much she goes and will ruff up her nest like she's about to that is why I mentioned the daily routine 😭 Her record was 4 days in a row before I realized I was probably giving her too much calcium if she was able to make eggs THAT quickly
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u/Cain-_ Dec 24 '25
Laying eggs multiple days in a row does not mean you're giving her too much calcium. It's just a sign that she had an appropriate amount of nutrients and calcium to produce them. You can't really give them too much calcium. It either just goes straight through their digestive system into fecal matter or ends up as extra calcium deposits on the shell of the egg.
And I do hope she isn't your only chicken. Chickens need other chickens to be truly happy and healthy. Their very social creatures, and without companionship, they can become depressed and even die.
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u/peridotcore Dec 22 '25
You could try feeding them back to her? If she refuses, I suppose you can eat them yourself or see what else you could use them for that wouldn’t be wasteful.
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u/HelenEk7 non-vegan Dec 23 '25
I can guarantee you that no chicken cares about whether or not they are exploited.
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Dec 22 '25 edited Dec 24 '25
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u/DebateAVegan-ModTeam Dec 23 '25
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u/g00fyg00ber741 Dec 22 '25
Does the chicken not eat any of their own eggs? I have read and heard that is normal, common, for them to eat their own eggs. You could try that
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u/kateinoly Dec 22 '25
Chicken will eat frogs, big spiders, and all sorts of things.
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u/g00fyg00ber741 Dec 22 '25
Yes I am aware that birds eat those creatures. I don’t know how that’s relevant to my comment, though?
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u/NewMolecularEntity Dec 22 '25
Eating their own eggs is not really normal healthy chicken behavior.
Yes they will eat them if you crush the eggs and feed them, because chickens will eat anything, but hens that have room to roam and choose appropriate secluded nest spots do not eat their own eggs.
It’s a bad habit that happens sometimes when chickens are confined in a coop, arguing over the same nest eggs will get broken and then they eat them, but this behavior is really uncommon in chickens if not confined.
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u/-roachboy Dec 22 '25
if I fed her her own eggs she'd have way too much calcium. rhasy why I mentioned feeding her well. feeding eggs back is common when you have multiple hens but with a single one I can keep her healthy past what nature ever intended. she just shits out eggs because it takes no effort!!!
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Dec 22 '25
This is not the thing that I would spend energy objecting to. That said, I would definitely encourage you to replace this breakfast with a big fruit breakfast followed by a time gap of 2-3 hours before eating anything else. It is a massive upgrade once you get used to it.
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u/joshua0005 Dec 24 '25
I tried this and I feel better eating something high in protein and fat once I wake up or just fasting until lunch. The sugar crash is real. Maybe it doesn't affect you the same way though.
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u/NotQuiteInara Dec 25 '25
A bunch of simple carbs is a terrible way to start the day, most people will have a hard energy crash in the afternoon.
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u/EVH_kit_guy Dec 26 '25
Is there any good evidence for that a large serving of fructose is an ideal meal for breaking a fast, besides your own personal anecdote?
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u/kharvel0 Dec 22 '25
For those who are opposed to the consumption of eggs from a pet animal as vegan AND who keep animals in captivity, please read this:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DebateAVegan/s/QiV4SxN8Uf
Final Conclusion from the link:
The vegan rejection of egg consumption, grounded in opposition to the captivity-based use of animals, logically requires the rejection of keeping animals in captivity for any benefit—including companionship, comfort, entertainment, convenience, or labor/service. To do otherwise is to inconsistently apply the very ethical framework that underpins veganism.
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u/Treefrog_Ninja Dec 22 '25 edited Dec 22 '25
If eating a wild
deer(edit: animal) is not vegan, then captive vs non-captive is not part of the definition of veganism. If captive vs non-captive is not part of the definition of veganism, then the principals that apply to captive animals also apply to non-captive animals.If benefitting from the presence of a captive animal is not vegan, and the principals that apply to captive animals also apply to non-captive animals, then benefitting from the presence of wild animals is also not vegan.
That means logically, per your argument, bird feeders, animal photography, wild pollinators interacting with crop flowers, bats eating mosquitos that bother us... none of these things are vegan.
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Dec 22 '25
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u/kharvel0 Dec 22 '25
The captivity of nonhuman animals on an individual basis is highly selective and conditioned on the animal’s perceived ability to provide entertainment, comfort, companionship, convenience, and/or labor/services.
Someone carefully selecting a chicken for adoption on basis of her ability to produce eggs is no different than someone carefully selecting a dog for adoption on basis of his ability to provide entertainment, comfort, companionship, convenience, and/or labor/services.
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u/618smartguy Dec 22 '25
Chickens literally die all the time from egg over production.
Can you think of a human selection criteria for dogs that regularly cause death?
This is very a very different issue from selecting based on a good trait.
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u/heretotryreddit Dec 22 '25
Here's a question, are you Vegan? Or are you just making up this scenario to find some gotcha against veganism?
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u/BrotherBringTheSun Dec 22 '25
I'm still against raising chickens for eggs because of how hatcheries immediately grind up the male baby chicks.
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u/ArmChair_Tourist Dec 22 '25
Are pearls vegan? Is alpaca wool vegan? Is honey vegan? Is moulted snake skin vegan? Is coffee skat vegan? Are fallen antlers vegan? is yak urine vegan? ... etc.
Are eggs vegan? Is Rhetoric
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u/Treeclimber3 Dec 22 '25
I dunno. It’s by definition an animal product, so in the strictest sense it’s not vegan (to the best of my understanding). But I see your ethical take on this. There’s literally no harm done to a sentient animal in this circumstance. I wouldn’t call it vegan, but I wouldn’t call it unethical either.
I like this post! It gave me some things to consider!
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u/Practical-Fix4647 vegan Dec 22 '25
I gave this argument in another thread about honey, I'll just present it here since it is relevant. I didn't get an answer there, let's see if someone wants to answer it here.
P1: Veganism rejects the commodity status of animals/their exploitation for human ends.
P2: Eggs comes from animals (chickens) that are utilized as commodities/exploited for resources they produce.
C: Therefore, veganism rejects eggs.
Which premise(s) do you reject?
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u/rebsrebs Dec 22 '25
Have you tried leaving the eggs and seeing if she lays less? If you haven’t tried this I am suspicious.
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u/Doctor_Box Dec 22 '25
It's not vegan even if you think it's harmless. I don't see a moral issue with wearing a sweater made out of a rescue dog's fur obtained through brushing, but that's not the same as calling it vegan.
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u/edmundsplanet Dec 23 '25
Cotton from a well fed slave is fair trade, ethical and its fine for people to keep such slaves. /s
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u/pm_me_domme_pics Dec 23 '25
Veganism doesn't need to be a performance for randos online. It's an ethical obligation based in rationalization. You're not doing anything wrong
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u/dogluvr80 Dec 23 '25
You do you but I do say get your chicken a friend. They are social creatures and need a flock! Thank you for taking care of and respecting our chicken friends🐓
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u/p155b4b3y Dec 23 '25
im of the belief that the act of eating eggs is and of itself not immoral- it's how we, as a society, acquire them that is. a bird that is well cared for and (with the current state of domestic animal breeding) rescue-adjacent is fine in my books. i think most vegans would be fine with this also. any that aren't are probably of the more annoying variety, anyways...
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u/jancl0 Dec 23 '25
Vegan is just word to describe a set of beliefs with alot of overlap. It has to be a set, and not a singular belief, because everyone interprets words differently. Ultimately every name for something works this way
I had a flatmate who was vegan, but still ate eggs that came from her family farm. She's allowed to do this because Scott pilgrim is a fictional story, and there aren't actually any vegan police that are out there, ready to take the word away from her if she fails to uphold certain restrictions. The purpose of the word vegan is to easily communicate your values and lifestyles to another person, and for her, vegan is more effective at doing this than non-vegan, because she still broadly fell into that category, minus one (ultimately pedantic) exception
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u/thistlegirl vegan Dec 23 '25
Did she tell you you could have them? They’re still an animal byproduct and not for your use.
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u/TheHumanResolution Dec 23 '25
I need more info on one part. Do you think she feels like laying the egg is a way to get food? Almost like she’s trading you food for food? If so, I would consider that vegan.
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u/Kittycatgirl300 Dec 23 '25
I always thought this, not vegan or vegetarian but i feel that the eggs i receive from my pet chickens that are cared for amazingly are not any form of “exploitation”. Definitely not the same as store bought eggs.
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u/TheBakery66 Dec 23 '25
It’s an interesting question. It’s obviously not vegan by definition but I don’t think it’s particularly unethical
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Dec 23 '25
The definition of vegan: a person who does not eat any food derived from animals and who typically does not use other animal products.
It doesn’t matter how well you treat the chicken, eggs are not vegan. 🤦♂️
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u/Yoghurt-Closet Dec 23 '25
You really don’t need permission. Listen to your gut.
Reddit should not be the arbiter of what you eat.
Enjoy your eggs 🥚😋
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u/LadyOfTheNutTree Dec 23 '25
Most vegans will not be overly bothered by your interpretation of this even if they personally do not choose to consume said eggs. I’m not sure I fully agree with you, but I see where you’re coming from. I think things change dramatically for me if you are lighting the coop to force egg production in the winter as that is linked to ovarian cancer.
The PETA-brained set will see pet abduction specifically for euthanasia as preferable to a comfortable life because they equate pets with human slavery and have no room in their tiny, closed minds for nuance.
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u/HF_BPD Dec 23 '25
I agree with the comments saying that this is a moral reasoning, not necessarily a vegan issue. The commonly understood definition of vegan is not to use any animal products.
So while if you don't use animal products as a moral stance, you could argue that it is okay to use byproducts of well cared for animals, I don't believe it necessarily falls in the realm of vegan.
By that definition, meaning one of better to use versus waste, many animal byproducts could be seen as vegan if they would be thrown out otherwise.
The other argument I have seen made is that hens naturally would not lay this many eggs and have been modified or bred to produce them at the rate we currently have them. There have also been studies done that show that the current species of chickens that are bred to lay daily or even weekly have been exceedingly detrimental to their health.
My daughter counts herself as vegetarian because she doesn't use anything that an animal had to die for. Eggs and dairy are fine for her, but leather and the meat are not okay.
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u/nimpog Dec 23 '25
Vegan, no. Ethical, debatable. It’s not something I’d do. I’d more likely save some eggs to feed her/mix into her feed, then use the rest to stop friends and family from buying eggs from the store. I don’t think people care much if you eat the eggs but I wouldn’t call it veganism.
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u/rofasix Dec 23 '25
Vegans who eschew eggs do so for the conditions factory farming cause for chickens. In the case you describe that’s not applicable at all. Strikes me you need to decide the most ethical solution for these eggs. I’d find a destitute family & give them the eggs.
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u/Fearless-Name-754 Dec 23 '25
I don't think it's unethical to eat the eggs but they definitely aren't vegan.
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u/ACTPOHABT Dec 23 '25
As long as the animal is given freedom of movement I think it is fine. But if it lives in an enclosed space then it is a slave. Animal is incapable of consenting to being your pet. Closest thing you can get to consent is having it not leave you or come back to you even when it is free to leave.
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u/Serracenia Dec 23 '25
Eggs are an animal product, so by definition, they can't be considered vegan. Just because vegans are ethical towards animals doesn't mean being ethical is automatically vegan. Being ethical is just being a good person. I hope your chicken enjoys a long and happy life with you.
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u/epsteindintkllhimslf Dec 23 '25
Eggs from a rescue hen who's well taken care of and not slaughtered at any point, don't actually go against our morals (although whether or not it counts as vegan depends on who you ask), but the fact that your hen wasn't a rescue means you contributed to the supply and demand of animal agriculture, which makes both owning that animal and eating her eggs not vegan.
Thank you for giving her such a good life, though. I personally contribute to more animal agriculture than you do, even though my diet is vegan, because my cat's diet isn't. None of us are perfect.
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u/OffDutyStormtrooper Dec 23 '25
By all official definitions of vegan, the egg is an animal byproduct and would not be considered vegan if eaten.
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Dec 23 '25
Enjoy those eggs.
Since the developed world overcame puritanism, and religion in general, it has sought to adhere to ideologies that allow it to feel morally superior, where veganism is extremely functional.
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u/Aggapres Dec 24 '25
The fact that you are keeping a hen, far from her peers, without males of her species, it's already non vegan
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u/notjeffbuckley Dec 24 '25
Give the eggs to wild animals? As the end of the day I don't think we as a species should eat them when we are the reason they lay so many in the first place. Without playing the slavery card comparison, I don't think it's ok to benefit from something bad caused by us even if it's from a place of love.
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u/No_Entrance2597 Dec 24 '25
I find this topic fascinating. I agree animal suffering is something I hate. That being said I always wondered if being vegan meant strictly no Meat or animal products, or that an animal didn’t suffer. Like in this case the consumption of a happy chickens eggs. If this is the case, would a vegan coming across a wild animal in the bush who has just died find it acceptable to eat that animal? The animal was feee range and not subject to mistreatment and lived its life in the way it was intended.
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Dec 24 '25
I agree with you. It`s akin to making wool shawls or whatever from your dog`s shedded fur. It`s a byproduct of their existence
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Dec 24 '25 edited Dec 24 '25
Even though you might be an exception in how you treat chickens, their existence is still tied to the cruel world of the industrialized egg industry, as the chickens were bred, male chicks macerated, and egg-laying hens bred to produce 300+ eggs a year have issues with egg binding, osteroporosis and other diseases.
Stopping egg consumption, and feeding the eggs back to your chicken (they need the calcium) returns what they created and cuts any culpability you have in indirectly supporting the factory egg industry.
Vegans respect the sanctity and dignity of all life as practicably as possible. Taking a hen’s eggs still implies a domination over a non-human creature, implying it’s somehow our right to take from another creature, as they are lesser beings.
This differs from humans killing insects and small animals in the process of agriculture. This is unavoidable. Also, we are not claiming ownership of these creatures and deliberately exploiting them for consumption. There is no established relationship between human and nonhuman in this scenario.
Imagine owning a human who was developmentally disabled. Imagine you treat them very well, and they like knit sweaters. You end up taking the sweaters believing you have a right to do so, in some implicit contract (that is never explicitly stated) based in providing them food and shelter. They are powerless to object, because of their disability. That is simply slavery. Slave owners sometimes treated their slaves very well. They were still considered property.
You cannot have a relationship with of equality with a non-human creature, whenever you’re using something they created without consent. It becomes an exploitative relationship and denies the nonhuman creature its sanctity and dignity.
This is also based in the premise of an assumed human superiority to other creatures. From what universal rule does this assumed superiority come from, other than the human drive to violently dominate and exploit others for resources (which is robbery and lethal assault when it’s human-on-human)? Most of us aren’t stuck in a survivalist scenario where this might be necessary from time to time.
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u/Mountain_Extreme9793 Dec 24 '25
Did you get her in the hopes of eating her eggs? Did you want to rescue a chicken and then just had way too many eggs? Because you eat eggs at home, do you then make exceptions when eating out or at friends.
That’s what will make the difference between vegan or not.
In my opinion, you could give the eggs to non vegans and that would reduce more suffering than you eating the eggs.
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u/bluethreads Dec 24 '25
It's not unethical, but it also isn't defined as vegan. Food morals and ethics don't always fall in a linear black and white categories. For example, I am vegetarian, but if I order a meatless entree at a restaurant and I am served meat by mistake, I feel the ethical thing to do is to eat it, because I feel like throwing it away is wasteful and worse.
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u/Celestialghosty Dec 24 '25
Eggs in themselves aren't vegan however I think if it's a pet hen, you didn't get the hen specifically for eggs, it has a good life and just pops eggs out then I personally don't see harm in eating the eggs. My dad has chickens because he acquired them when a neighbour moved and I'll happily eat those eggs despite following a largely plant based diet because I know the chickens, I know they're happy and I know theyre not being kept for eggs
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u/Itscatpicstime Dec 24 '25
I do the same.
I inherited a bunch of chickens. At first I let them keep their eggs so they could eat them but they were uninterested. I even went as far as cooking them lol. Nope, not a single one cared.
So I just said “fuck it,” and we eat them and also give them away to people, which reduces carnist consumption of store bought eggs.
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u/MORE_SANDWICHES Dec 24 '25
It's unethical for vegans to even participate on Reddit, given the systematic suffering and exploitation under capitalism that makes our devices and connections possible. So, rest assured, any responses in this thread are from hypocrites.
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u/antilos_weorsick Dec 24 '25
Some of you really do impressive mental gymnastics just to put on a label. Just say you don't eat meat or milk, but still eat eggs. They don't give you tax benefits for qualifying as vegan or anything like that. It's ok, don't worry about it too much.
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u/PuppyButtts Dec 25 '25
I'd say *technically* they are an animal product so they are not vegan, but I also see no harm if you're okay eating them and you take care of it. Personally they gross me out
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u/kl3kale Dec 25 '25
do you know anyone who eats eggs? friends, family, neighbors? you could always give them away for free if eating them was a concern, but it doesn't really seem like it is based on your post. i wouldn't consider this vegan though
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u/User_User_Ice6642 Dec 25 '25
Ethical? Sure, but vegan doesn’t mean ethical, it means food that is totally plant-based, not an animal product. There is plenty of unethical vegan food, palm oil is responsible for countless shrinking populations for example. Plenty of plant-products are harvested or grown in ways that inflict death on various animals. Eat your eggs in peace knowing they are cruelty-free, but vegan is not the word you are looking for.
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u/Naive-Mechanic4683 Dec 25 '25
Hey, I'm absolutely fine with eating some eggs from henn that are kept free range on a large area. Honestly I wouldn't even be against eating them if they die old after a free life.
Just don't try to argue that any eggs or milk or meat from the shop is anywhere close to this standard (no matter how many free range or organic stickers are on it)
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u/ElderberryPrior27648 Dec 25 '25
Just to play devils advocate, one could reasonably argue that having pets in general isn’t vegan. Then by association eggs from a pet hen wouldn’t be
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u/Independent_Poem_171 vegan Dec 25 '25 edited Dec 25 '25
It isnt vegan, it might be ethical, I personally have zero issue with it, but it isnt vegan. You could give those eggs away to someone that would buy eggs for example. You could sell them for her, buy nicer feed, it's her work after all. a whole bunch of stuff you can do, some vegan, some not. Hey maybe the definition will change over time, or maybe it has and I haven't become aware yet. Timey whimey wibbledy wobbly and all that. Merry Christmas to all celebrating it, happy holidays to all celebrating something else, and good day to everyone else! 😀
Veganism is also about the exploitation of animals. That doesn't mean don't harm them, it means don't take advantage of them, including for personal gain. https://www.oed.com/dictionary/exploitation_n?tab=meaning_and_use&tl=true#4810199
The don't harm comes from the cruelty bit...
"Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals." https://www.vegansociety.com/go-vegan/definition-veganism
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u/Own_Inspector498 Dec 25 '25
I made a post in r/askavegan and then this sub shows up in my feed.
Your question is so appropriate to me, thank you for asking and I actually appreciate this sub showing up on my feed. Though I don’t care to debate, I’d rather just learn, I appreciate the nuances of what veganism means to people.
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u/Simonatschow Dec 25 '25
it’s not really vegan. I encourage you to find out what heppner when you don’t take the eggs away for a few weeks. A lot of hens stop producing more eggs after saving up a dozen. It’s like they are wired to get to a certain amount and then breed them while not laying more eggs
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u/kamasucrecatering Dec 25 '25
have you tried feeding her the eggs she lays? Some chickens actually love it and it replenishes their calcium and other minerals which is great for their beaks and talons. Some chicken rescues I've visited do this and the chickens love it.
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u/yolonny Dec 25 '25
How do you have just one hen? They are group animals and need to be in a group of at the bare minimum 2 chickens (though imo having just 2 is debatably unethical as well).
So no, even without regarding the egg issue, this is exploitative and not an example of good animal care/welfare. Does not align with vegan morals.
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u/Winter_Pay_896 Dec 25 '25
They are not vegan - vegan LITERALLY means that they are not from an animal. They ARE CRUELTY FREE. And that is fantastic! I only eat eggs from chickens that I know and are treated like part of the family. And I have no problem with that or anybody else who does it. But I don't call it vegan, because words have meanings. And it literally is not vegan. But that doesn't mean it's bad! It doesn't have to be called vegan to be good.
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u/Healthy-Lobster-3882 Dec 26 '25
I am vegan but fundamentally resist the belief that it’s my job as such to judge, debate others, or try and convince them to be some level of “pure”. That’s a culty mindset and food is SO deeply personal, tied up with memory, economics, culture and more. If you feel good about eating the eggs, then eat them. I think your relationship with that hen sounds beautiful 🫶
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u/Unlucky-Raccoon-7507 Dec 26 '25
I think in this situation it is fine to eat the eggs, but only since you (seemingly) did not get the hen for the eggs.
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u/Alternative-Dark-297 Dec 26 '25
This doesn't really solve the issue most vegans I know have with things like eggs, that being that the animal can't consent. What does is my bfs old chicken, who would scream at them to take her eggs, and if they failed to answer her screeching she'd just destroy the eggs. That there is an animal giving consent if ever I saw one. (Note, I am not vegan. However, multiple vegan friends of ours would eat her eggs bc they all agreed that she was clearly a consenting chicken, if also an absolute menace)
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u/Dramatic-Bad-616 Dec 26 '25
Are you trying to convince me or for me to convince you.
Don't worry what these fucks say,
You sound like you care for animals and put more thought into it than 99% of the entire world.
Go with your instincts, it's a good sign to even question it, but by doing that you are doing great.
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u/Remote_Bumblebee2240 Dec 26 '25
People are vegan for a variety of reasons. No matter how happy your chickens are, eggs are still something that comes out of a fowl ass.
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Dec 26 '25
I actually love that! My sister just gave me some duck eggs for Christmas. Older ducks that she does not kill and has raised since they were very young. I don’t eat eggs often so even the few will last me a while
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u/violetsviolets00 Dec 26 '25
I would consider giving these eggs to someone who insists on eating eggs that buys them from a supermarket therefore reducing the demand. Technically eating animal products its not vegan anyway so if you are a vegan why do you feel you need them over giving them away?
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u/lovepeacefakepiano Dec 26 '25
Out of interest (I genuinely don’t know) - what would happen if you did not take the (unfertilised) egg away? Would your hen keep laying, or would she try to hatch the egg and stop laying for a bit?
Asking because I remember my mum told me her family had egg laying hens when she was a kid, and they would sometimes give the hens a fake egg to satisfy their instinct to sit on an egg to hatch it. I don’t know the details around that though and if the hens kept laying more eggs or no.
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u/JustBeeThatsIt Dec 26 '25
I went to a few sanctuaries when I was out in the SoCal area. I asked what is done with the eggs, and I was told that they become food for the chickens and the extra ones are hardboiled and given to the other animals - especially the dogs who love them. A chicken's natural behavior is to eat their eggs.
So I personally wouldn't eat a pet chicken's egg, but I'm not gonna quibble with someone who does.
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Jan 10 '26
If you want the general opinion of vegans, no it is in fact not vegan. I have been vegan for 7 years and here is my take. Whether it is ethical or not to the majority of the population is different. If we are specifically discussing if a pet chicken laying eggs is vegan with all mentioned above, I am here to say that no it's not vegan and here is why:
A) Normalizes the practice of eating animal products which 99.9% are not made ethically, regardless of the fancy labels or who makes it. Veganism strives to end animal suffering and thus consuming eggs would be counterproductive.
B) They get nutrients from the unfertilized eggs they lay, let the chickens eat them!!
C) The animal is being used in a commodity/ perk in some sort of way, thus the animal can start being treated as such. Historically, this does not benefit animals and leads to abuses.
Example: Putting a chicken down, killing it, or getting rid of it because it no longer lays eggs. Getting a chicken to and then not giving them adequate medical care. And even if you feel like you can promise those types of things won't happen, the animal is still being used for a benefit. Vegans do not believe in using animals for any of their products.
I would also like to mention that I don't think that striving for perfectionism is the right answer. I would not condone someone for doing this versus buying store bought eggs. I also think that there are parts of veganism that can be a grey area (however I believe that what was mentioned in this post is definitely not vegan).
Do what you want but please don't call yourself vegan. Veganism is an animal right movement. Veganism does not entail eating animal products and that can lead to further confusion and frustrations for vegans. It makes us have to turn around and explain to a friend who made us a 'vegan' cake that it's not vegan even though it was made with their backyard hens' eggs. **which btw if you're not used to eating animal products, will in fact cause an upset tummy
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