It is a lot of work, but after my last group was killed off 2 months I have not impressed by store eggs, so I'm planning on re-enforcing my coop so I can get another group of them soon.
so the birds get a point for each level of protection they receive. each group needs two points to be safe.
i mainly raise geese, which are tough, not going to be bothered by a hawk. geese (turkeys similar) start with one point. an electric fence is one point, a fully enclosed coop is one point, night light (.5?), guard animal (.5?). chickens are always inventing ways to die, so they start with 0 (should probably be -1).
fingers crossed i haven’t lost any geese to land predators in three years and only one chicken that flew the enclosure. hawks have taken a few chickens, but never when the geese are around.
We have a very reinforced coop and an automatic coop door so we've never had any issues.
Our neighbor's chickens were devoured by black bears twice. They had one wily chicken that managed to escape both events however.
Curious to know what differences do you discern between store and fresh eggs? Not doubting you, just curious to know.
Note the wide variety. When you're doing a backyard chicken coop, you can pick whatever you want, for whatever reason (Rhode Island Red for hardiness, say, or a combo for variety). So not only do you have feed variation, you have breed variation, which can contribute to taste differences.
You also have freshness, as you use the eggs within a day or so of laying.