Martha: >Are chickens naturally greens-eaters? Yes. Among other things. >I see egg cartons advertising that the >eggs are from vegetarian-fed chickens, and wonder why this >is considered better? Ha! I've always wondered why being a vegetarian person is considered better ;) Just joking--no desire to get into that one again. ;) Some vegetarians want their cats and dog to be vegetarian as well. My guess is that if a vegetarian does, for whatever reason, eat animal foods it is probably going to be eggs (or dairy) and they would pay more for an egg from a vegetarian chicken. Another marketing ploy. Mostly these egg producers brag that their _feeds_ are vegetarian--not altogether hard to manage. ;) Fish meal additives are probably the only thing avoided (and probably to the chicken's detriment nutritionally). Perhaps the egg producers have vegetarian leanings. I would say that a truly vegetarian chicken has never foraged a moment in its life since it would then never have a chance at an insect. >Is a truly free-roaming chicken going to >be a vegetarian? No. Insects are a major part or the diet of chickens left to forage. It appears that many modern breeds are so artificially selected that they almost require a grain supplement and are sometimes unable to forage for their complete diet anymore. (Just as they are often unable to procreate since the mothering instinct is breed out of the best-producing egg-layers. Producers want the chicken to lay dem eggs and get off a der, not try to hatch em.) I'll resist the parrallel to instinctos trying/failing to forage from wild foods. ;) Cheers, Kirt Secola /\ Nieft [log in to unmask]