Our farm is designed around the needs and desires of our chickens – and chickens happen to be forest birds. So, we created indoor and outdoor gardens that stimulate them and make them feel safe – as forest birds. Our eggs in the United States are Certified Humane for animal welfare practices.
A lot. For example:
After around 90 weeks of laying eggs, their life is ended to make space for a new younger generation of hens. Since we do not have the supply chain for their meat in place, the hens are culled on the farm and then they are picked up by renderers who process them into pet food, livestock feed and other products.
The chickens are caught using the Dutch Catching Method. This means we do not pick up more than 2 chickens at a time. It also means we hold them upright and by their chest before carefully placing them in a transportation crate. This method was chosen after consultations with Eyes on Animals, Caring Vets, and the Animal Protection Organization.
Well, we want to cure our birds when they’re sick. This may include applying antibiotics to a flock if our veterinarian sees this as the best way to treat them. This is in line with the animal welfare certification standard Certified Humane in the United States, which allows for therapeutic antibiotics in case of illness. The types of antibiotics we use are safe for chickens and humans.
The use of hormones in poultry is forbidden in the United States. Even if it was allowed, we would not use them.
White layers need less feed to make an egg. This lowers the egg’s carbon footprint by about 5 percent. So, one can say that white eggs are better for the environment than brown eggs – while still being just as delicious and nutritious.
The Kipster egg yolk color is often a lighter color compared to other eggs. This is because we replaced the corn in the feed with surplus products. Normally, corn gives an orange hue to the egg yolk. Alternatively, color additives are often used to pump up the orange. We thought this silly.
To make organic eggs you need to grow organic feed. We use upcycled feed, which puts less strain on the environment compared to organic feed. We use less land and water and emit fewer greenhouse gas emissions. We’re “beyond organic.”
Very healthy. Our veterinarian and farmers work closely with nutritionists, feed suppliers and other experts to formulate these circular diets that lower our carbon footprint while maintaining the health and productivity of our hens and roosters. The feed includes all the energy, proteins, vitamins, minerals, and fiber that our feathered friends need to stay perky and produce high-quality eggs.
To make it nutritious and safe, our upcycled feed is the result of years of meticulous research & development. We use whatever humans cannot or will not eat. For example:
To maintain a consistent high quality, we have many no-go areas, such as:
No, it’s an ancient practice. Agriculture has been done like this for millennia. We just revitalized it for our times.
Our feed is made of products that are part of human food supply chains. For example:
We are committed to end the killing of day-old male chicks. Kipster’s goal is to raise them for meat and to feed people with them. In the Netherlands, Kipster hen and roosters are processed into meat for people. While we raised the first few flocks of roosters in the United States, we ran into a significant challenge: the lack of infrastructure to process the hens and roosters into viable meat products.
In 2025, in-ovo sexing technology has become available at the hatchery where Kipster hens come from. The technology identifies the gender of the chick in the hatching egg. The eggs with the male chicks are removed and will not hatch. Now that the technology is available, we use it as an interim solution while we keep actively working towards a solution to bring the meat to market.
For every hen that is born, a rooster is also born. The harsh reality is that these roosters are killed as soon as they hatch as a common practice across the egg industry. They do not produce eggs and do not grow as fast and gain as much weight as meat chickens. This accounts for over 350 million rooster chicks in the US every year, or over 7-billion-day old male chicks globally each year.
With eggs comes meat. Roosters and spent hens from egg farmers are an untapped source of valuable protein. We give the roosters and hens a place in the food system. Once we have the supply chain fully development, the layer hens become meat after around 90 weeks, when their laying period ends. One pound of rooster and hen meat can replace one pound of broiler meat.
Layers and their brothers carry little meat on their bones. They are leaner and do not gain weight as efficiently as their cousins in the meat industry. That makes meat from the egg industry considerably more expensive. However: waste not, want not…
First, we reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible in terms of feed production and processing, farm operations, raising of chicks, and egg packaging. For example, our feed has a footprint that’s about half that of conventional feed. This is particularly significant since chickenfeed is responsible for around 70% of the greenhouse gas footprint of an egg.
Our carbon footprint does not include storage and distribution of the egg after it arrives at the distribution center of Kroger, nor its storage and use by consumers.
In the U.S., Kipster eggs are certified as CarbonNeutral® (not including use) by Climate Impact Partners.
Yes, it is industrial compostable and recyclable. We recommend recycling so it gets another use out of it as paper or cardboard.
The Kipster farm is the first in the U.S. to wash the air that leaves the barns. This removes dust, odor, ammonia, and other undesirable particles. Before the air leaves the barn, its heat is recovered by a heat pump which preheats incoming fresh air. Combined with the innovative ventilation system in the barn this lowers emissions significantly and creates a better in-house climate for both farmer and bird.
Even with 1,478 solar panels on our barn roofs, we will likely not be completely self-sufficient. We can only tell after a year of operation how much energy we will still need to buy to power our farm. We’ll keep you posted.
Normally, yes! However, due to the current bird flu risk, our farm is temporarily closed to visitors. Once the risk has passed, we’d love to welcome you to our visitor center, which is open daily from 10 AM to 4 PM. Before you plan your visit, please check the Kipster website to make sure it is open. Contact egg@kipster.farm for questions about the visitor center.
The visitor center is temporarily closed due to the Bird Flu risk.
Address:
Kipster
5684 E 1100 N
N. Manchester IN 46962
The left and right side of the Kipster house both have outdoor gardens. On both sides the chickens have 32.8’ X 358.6’, which is 0.98 sq. ft. per bird.
The indoor garden is 40’ X 358.6’, which is 0.6 sq. ft. per bird.
The area where the birds sleep at night, where they eat, drink and lay their eggs, including elevated platforms, is 24,212 sq. ft. or 1.01 sq. ft. per bird.
The total living area for the birds without outdoor area is 1.61 sq. ft. per bird, for a total of 24,000 hens.
We believe food should reflect its true cost—without passing the burden onto future generations. Today’s food prices often come at an unseen expense, paid by the environment, animals, farmers, and the well-being of future generations. That’s why we strive to produce our eggs as sustainably as possible while ensuring farmers receive a fair price for their work. Ultimately, the retailer sets the final price, including their own margins.
Or you can check for stores that sell Kipster eggs here:
The meat is currently not available. We will keep you updated on the latest Kipster meat news.
Thank you for your interest in our farm and the Kipster concept. Please reach out to egg@kipster.farm for inquiries.