Egg Picking on Farms: Upstate New York’s Latest Tourist Attraction

Upstate New York is a well- known destination for apple-picking. But recently, egg picking is also making its way to the spotlight. Farms with pasture-raised chickens are offering their guests and customers the opportunity to pick the eggs they want to purchase fresh from their farms.

Owners of Handsome Brook Farm in the Catskills, Bryan and Betsy Babcock have seven Rhode Island Reds on their 85-acre farm land in Franklin. The duo is welcoming their visitors to learn how they raise and pick their chickens' eggs from their coop. Babcock also instructs guests how to cook the eggs, which is known for its bright orange yolks and thick whites. The egg picking on  Bryan and Betsy Babcock's farm is available through early November. The prices of the eggs are $5 a dozen while the cooking lessons are $25 per person.

Also located in the Catskills, a 200-acre Stony Creek Farmstead in Walton has 200 hens that lay eggs in varying sizes from extra small to jumbo. The co-owner Kate Marsiglio conducts weekend tours on their farm. The tour also ends with the visitors collecting the hens' eggs and tasting them prepared in different ways, just for $10 a person.

Moreover, the guests can stay overnight in one of the land's six tents with wood stoves. They can also select and cook their own eggs for breakfast. The co- owner helps her visitors with the morning meal by delivering fresh bread and bacon from the farm's pigs. Guests only have to pay $235 to enjoy a night at the farm.

Another site for collecting eggs is on the Hudson Valley. The 1,200-acre Kinderhook Farm in Ghent has 300 hens that lay eggs in different colors ranging from light green to light blue. Guests can book a weekend tour to witness the farm animals as well as pick up chicken eggs for just $6 a dozen. The tour is allegedly available starting early November.

But the closest location in New York City known for gathering eggs is found in the 80-acre Stone Barns Center for Food and Agriculture in Pocantico Hills. It carries out weekend farm visits and a stop in the pastures. The property is home to 1,200 chickens and collecting eggs is also included. The visitation is offered through mid-November for $20 for adults and $10 for children ages 12 and under.

For other queries, guests can easily inquire via the farms official websites. Some of the poultry farms also give out tickets online. In addition, the ticket cost for each farm depends upon other farm activities.