My last post about chickens was when eagle and fluffy and hawk and tulley and nutmeg were still with us back in early 2014.
A lot has happened since.
Nutmeg was the next to go with complications of a heart defect.
All that was left was old Red mama and her hatched chicks.
Hawk declined and was euthanized. She had reproductive tumors.
Tulley fought hard to get over an infection (lash egg) but the complications did her in a few months later and she passed in her sleep one night. Leaving us with Fluffy and Eagle.
So, I needed more chicks and decided to order pure breeds from a NPIP certified hatchery to get the feather colors and patterns I wanted and to get all females. The chicken as pets movement is gaining popularity and there was finally a place or 2 you could order small batches of chicks from.
Awe... just look at them... soooo cute!
The "fantastic 4" arrived in late June 2015 and grew in a brooder in the garage.
Sue (black australorp) was not the strongest and died quickly.
They were slowly introduced to the big girls and were put out in a modified run in the big run.
After months of trying, eagle just would not accept them. I couldn't trust her around them as she would try to attack them every chance.
So sadly, I decided to try and re home her with her sister fluffy (so she would have a friend). Found the perfect match for them luckily.
Now, the flock was soooo much less stressed. It was so quiet and peaceful and red and the new crew get on just fine.
3 years have passed and here is their story so far...
Bennie.
The cutest thing made me just absolutely fall in love with Cochin. She is the bottom of the order. Loud, let's you know it if anything is amiss or if she just wants out. Very vocal! Tough as nails, fearless. Attacks anything that moves. Kills mice with a precision bite to the back of the head and a firm shake. Attacks my feet with the same fervor. She of a bit of a little toot. I think she thinks she is a cat. She will fall asleep on my lap but only when she wants to. She lays more eggs than I was hoping for. She keeps up with the rocks.
She turned out a little darker than I was hoping for but it's a good because she looks allot like tulley and has great markings and lots of fluff. And that fluff makes it tough when the temps get above 80F.
At 3 years old, she is a grumpy old lady.
Johnnie.
Lives up to her namesake as a super fast one. She is athletic, fast. Super scratcher. Sweet but scared of everything! She whines like a little chihuahua. Other than that, she is fairly quiet. She takes forever to lay her eggs. She has had a skin problem with her feet though every since she was chick and I have to check her and treat her with meds often. She hatched some eggs for me (that is another story). Was not the best mom. She comes eagerly when called. Likes to bite legs and feet of others.
Reede.
Oh my reede. <3
She was top of the order, after Red, of course. Although, sometimes she forgets and it's kinda funny seeing the look on red's face before she retaliates to remind Reede of the order.
She can be a bit of a bully. She loves people and people attention. She literally begs me to hold and pet her. She loves wing and shoulder massages. She talks a lot and trusts her mama and wants to hang out with me. Every few weeks I've got to bathe her because her neck isn't long enough to reach her backside. But, she loves drying time because it means she gets to sit on my lap and get pet and blown dry with warm air - she just loves it and falls asleep while leaning up on me. Reede feathers have blurry barring and some of the darker bars have brown tint. She took over mothering the chicks that Jonnie hatched, thank goodness. She tried to steal the babies from the moment they were put under Jonnie. She was a great mom! They had no choice to accept her when Jonnie kicked them all out from under her because she was too hot. Reede gladly accepted!
My heart just shattered when I lost my sweet Reede this past summer to internal laying. The vet was awesome and I got to spend some time with her before she was peacefully euthanized. She was a very very special one! She loved her momma, loved to snuggle and seemed to know when I needed a chicken hug most.
Red Chicken died the summer before last. She had heart failure and died on the exam table before the last injection could be administered. She was a pal to me. Never liked being held or pet. But had to be nearby. She just wanted to hang out. She was a perfect chicken. Quiet unless something was wrong. Survivor. Fair and just leader. Great mother. She was a chicken that seemed wise. Laid eggs like a machine until she ran out. Then, enjoyed the retirement she deserved.
The babies are all grown up now and starting to lay.
Rooster is behaving more like a "gentle-man-rooster", taking a more careful watch and learning that falling leaves are just leaves and giving the girls his tasty finds.
September 29th 2013
Someone laid a "practice" egg off the roost. Just a tiny egg with no yolk. Don't know who but I am on the watch.
November 7, 2013
Eagle laid her 1st egg today!
Her eggs are a boring grey recycled paper color. Boo.
She knew just what to do thanks to the Red chicken. (I had to teach my 1st girls where to lay the eggs.)
Our plan is to wait till Nutmeg got broody this year and try to hatch chicks to replenish our flock the "natural" way.
Research and vets suggested that they are more likely to go broody if you let 13 eggs stay in the nest.
So, I made 11 fake eggs and left them in the bottom box.
The bottom box is 1X3 feet and has a 8 inch ledge. Perfect (I think so far) for a broody spot.
I can make a chicken wire cover for it to keep the other girls out and convert it to a chick sized opening for when the babies are allowed to venture out so that the others can't eat their chick food.
Anyways... the wrong hen went broody. Red is my best layer.
Oh well.
Here is how my experiment is going.
April 6-8 A few days before.
Red starts acting strange. Paranoid, agitated, ruffling up feathers at me and the other girls, growling on the nest, almost acting rooster-ish by picking up morsels and dropping them and clucking (this is also what mother hens do for their chicks)
April 9 Day 1
Red broods on the nest and poofs and huffs and growls. She only gets up for about 5 minutes to go outside, eat some food and drink some water.
I get 4 eggs from the neighbor (who has roosters). I mark them with the mother hen's name and today's date and trade them for the fake eggs.
Red just growled and didn't bite me (thank goodness).
Here is a video of me trying not to get attacked when replacing the fake eggs with real ones (hopefully fertile).
April 10 Day 2
Still on the nest this morning :-) Got a few more eggs to put under her for a full brood.
10 eggs from the farm down the road and their BEAUTIFUL BIG rooster named "Dog".
Research advises against this adding to the nest thing and says to do all the eggs at once. I hope less than 24 hours won't make too much of a difference.
Red gladly took the new eggs under her wing. Cooing and clucking as she arranged the 14.
I will go back tonite and see if I can get all the fake eggs and check for any new lay eggs.
Had to open up another nest box because Puff was trying to squish in with Red and Nutmeg was trying to lay in the one available box. Once I opened it up with fresh fluffy bedding, Puff settled right in.
So far, I am thinking to leave the brood box open and let Red do her job keeping out the other girls. Nutmeg seems to heed Red's growls and avoids going in the brooder box. Now that the 2nd nest box is open, I don't see too much of a problem with Puff anymore.
Once the chicks hatch (hopefully) I am still debating on making a chick hole for their feed and water or switching all the girls over to starter and providing eggshell as a free choice for the extra calcium the big girls will need. With the warmer and dryer weather coming up, they will be able to get in the grass more often.
Mark the calendar for hatch date of April 28 and candling day of April 17th.
April 11 Day 3
Red still sitting. The eggs should be well heated and humid by now and starting to form.
So, until that hatch day comes, I will talk about what is going on under the shell.
It all happens so FAST! Stasis to puffy little chickie in 20 days!
Fertilized...
Day 1
That little paler yellow bullseye spot on the yolk will start to develop nerves that will form the brain and nervous system.
The eyes will also begin to form.
This tiny little speck embryo will take shape by the end of the day (kinda like a shrimp).
The head will form and the spine tract (no bone).
Day 2
Starting in on the ears and heart today.
Blood vessels are faintly visible.
By the end of the day that little mass of heart cells starts to beat.
Here we are on day 3
Starting in on nasal passages, legs and wings.
Blood vessels are clearly visible.
That little heart is formed and beating.
click the link below to see a heart beat from Purdue University http://ag.ansc.purdue.edu/poultry/movies/hloop.mov
April 12 Day 4
Still on the nest. (I keep noting this because it is her 1st time broody and her breed is not prone to broodiness, Rhode Island Red. There is a chance she will "snap out of it" too soon and the whole bunch will die.
Under the shell...
The little chicken tongues are starting to form.
The eyes are developing pigment.
Embryo weighs about 1/2 gram.
The Chick looks less like a worm now and more like a comma with its head portion building up cells and structures for a fully functioning chick in only 15 more days!
April 13 Day 5
What a champ. It's hard to tell if she gets up at all for food or water because when they do it is only for a minute. So, I have been breaking my "no interference rule" and spoon-feeding her once a day. I know, I know. But... she IS my BEST hen! She is the healthiest, toughest and lays the greatest eggs on a regular basis. I would hate to have her under for some illness because of under eating or dehydration.
I just put a tablespoon of the fermented feed in a yogurt cup with a drop of poultry drench (a vitamin supplement that is great!) and some additional water and offer it to her if she will take it. Nothing too heavy or tough.
Anyways... I candled and numbered the eggs today. Yeah, she bit me hard, but I got wise and pinned her head between my ring and middle finger as I pulled the eggs out one at a time. Then, her screechy bird growl got deeper and meaner and she sounded like a dog growling.
This is the one I wanted to get broody (she did it last year).
It was difficult for me to tell what was viable and what was not at this time. I used an led flashlight and my hand. Not the best candler.
Isn't it cool to think that blood is formed from a place where there is no blood to start out with? Life is so magical and miraculous.
I plan on candling again on day 10. That will give me a definite answer.
Day 5 under the shell...
The little nugget has over doubled it's weight.
Starts to form the reproductive organs.
Elbows and knees are visible on the embryo.
Bones of the legs are forming.
Crop starts to form.
April 14 day 6
Red gets up in the early morning to get a bite to eat and stretch her wings. Only for just a minute 'cause it sure is cold outside lately (in the 30's)! A touch of winter reminder after some really nice weather before spring break.
I made a better candler with a spotlight flashlight and a cover with a hole in it. I think the hole may need to be a tad bigger for more light. It would also help if the coop were totally dark. I must try again at night.
I adorned my leather gauntlet on my left hand and a nitrile glove on my right and went to work with a checklist and dark pencil.
Red is getting really aggressive now she is a week into this.
There are 2 Easter egger blue/green in there with super thick shells and the light just won't penetrate so I ? marked those.
# 4 was easily recognizable as infertile (from the rooster "Dog"). I expect more infertile from this bunch because Dog has about 20-30 hens he takes care of. The 4 I got from the closer neighbor has 1 roo to 3 hens - much better chance but was not sure how old the eggs were.
#12 was definite good so far (a brown from the group of 4)
Unsure of #s 3, 9, 10 and 11 (2 of which are Easter eggers)
Day 6 under the shell
About 1/3 of a gram in weight now.
The beak and egg-tooth are starting to form today.
Intestines grow and begin to loop up.
Gizzard starts to form.
Ribs begin to appear.
In candling the eye of the embryo should be a definite dark spot on the yolk. Healthy blood vessles should radiate from the dark spot.
April 15 Day 7
Last nite I went in at dark and got a good candling.
The 2 Easter Eggers are still difficult but I am fairly sure they are good.
I am sure #'s 7, 12 and 14 are good with nice veining.
#9 I still have a question mark by and the rest are ok I think.
Red sure was MAD last nite biting and tugging so hard I could feel it through my cow-hide rose gauntlets.
Under the shell
Weighs in at over a half of gram.
Feather papillae begin to form.
The little buggers are looking more like a chicken shaped embryo. With a huge head and eyes and a teeny tiny beak and limbs.
Videos of Red's "outing" this morning. I hope you enjoy these and get to observe some broody behavior.
Below - Red is really excited about food and at the end, "defends" her clutch from Nutmeg.
Below - She settles back in to business.
She went outside in the run and took a flash bath.
Went outside in the grass for some good ole fashioned chicken-ing.
As like folks with babies, folks with chikens have an instinctive urge to talk about poop.
Here is my picture of broody chiken poop. Eeeeeewwwwwweee.
That gross mass is a big as my hand.
The broody hen will not poop in her nest. Can you imagine getting up once a day to poop and eat and bathe and exercise all within a 10 minute span? "Yup" says you new moms out there ;-)
13 Days to go!
April 16 Day 8
So far so good today.
Under the Shell Day 8
Those poofy chickie feathers are already starting to form.
Doubles weight again at about 1.15grams
The inner eyelid (nictitating membrane starts to form. (kinda creepy and lizard-like but I wouldn't complain if I had one to protect my eyes from the sawdust and dirt and dust).
Bone marrow cavity begins to form in the femur (the big bone in the thigh).
The egg tooth is starting to form. Gotta have that for getting out of the shell in less than 2 weeks.
April 17 Day 9
The past few days she has been getting up around 8:30-9am for a break. Then I saw her out again last nite for about 5 minutes.
Poor thing is getting poorly. Her comb is shrunken a bit and beginning to fold (sign of dehydration). Her wattles are pink with some white on the edges. I have gone back to adding "poultry drench" to the food and leaving it a bit more watery to help with the hydration.
(I feed the girls fermented feed instead of dry.)
I really believe this is helping her to stay at her best (whatever that may be) during this tough time.
Under the shell Day 9
Upper eyelids begin to cover the eye.
And kneecaps begin to form. (Go figure. Chickens have kneecaps. I don't think I can recall noticing kneecaps before. Next time I chow down I will so be looking for the kneecap).
Only a 50% increase in weight today at about 1.5 grams.
Mouth opening begins to appear.
11 days to go.
April 17 Day 10
HALF WAY THERE!!!
Sad nite.
My daughter locked the hens up and noticed an egg poking out under Red and it had cracked.
Fearing it may be rotten, we took it outside to open it up.
Sadly, it was a fresh crack and the little chickie heart was still beating :-(
A cracked shell can not remain in the nest as the crack will allow pathogens to enter and the embryo will die anyway. Not to mention a rotty stinky egg bomb which can infect the hen and other eggs.
The loss was egg number 8. From Dog the rooster.
After under the shell... I have posted photos for educational purposes. Note that the chickie was not sacrificed for these photos as the shell was previously damaged.
Be aware that the photos may be graphic for some readers.
Under the Shell Day 10
Up to about 2.25 grams.
The day of tooth and nail. Beak begins to harden. Egg tooth is prominent. Claws begin to form.
Comb becomes visible (if the breed has a comb).
Flight feather appear.
Lower eyelids develop.
You will notice all the features in the photo below. I could see the little chickie claws on the tips of the toes.
And, it's little chickie tail. And sadly, it's little chickie heartbeat.
Typo - should be 8 of 14
In the photo below... you can see how the blood vessels are all along the inside of the shell allowing the blood to breathe for gas exchange.
April 18 Day 11
All is quiet today.
Day 11 Under the Shell
Comb begins to serrate (if that's the kind it is).
Tail and back feathers begin to show up.
Up to about 3.7 grams today.
Claws begin to turn down and feet pads start to show up.
Embryo begins to draw calcium from the shell for bone formation.
April 20 Day 12
Only 8 days to go and I am getting really "egg-cited". I got to candle 8 eggs and they are all great! I even saw some chickie movement in a few. (high-pitched eeeee.... with hands in fists shaking) - that's my little soft squeal of delight :-p
The numbers i remember are 14, 13, 12, 1, and I think 9, 3, 7 and 5? I did not have my record pad with me.
2 are the easter eggers of wich I did not attempt due to shell thickness and the other 2 were being brutally defended by Red and I had decided she had enough - poor girl.
I have been trying to catch her off the nest to take a peek at the clutch but doing that is like finding a needle in a haystack.
Under the shell Day 12
Chickie weighs in at about 5 grams.
Legs begin to scale.
Ribs begin to ossify (develop into bone).
Feathers are more visible.
April 21 Day 13
Yeah! A week from today is the due date.
Under the Shell Day 13
About 7.4 grams.
Scales and claws formed.
Feathers lightly cover the whole body.
Wishbone fuses.
April 22 Day 14
Six more days to go! She is still all puffed up on her dozen. Comb looking worse. I have not been "feeding" her as much lately and the "trouble twins" have been locked up in there with her on the account of the weather. This week's forecast is gorgeous. It will give me a chance to finish the run (hopefully). Which means the Puff-N-Nutter will be able to get out for some good foraging and leave mama alone.
Under the Shell Day 14
Positioning - the embryo turns head "down" to the larger end of the egg.
Up to about 9.75 grams.
Skull is beginning to ossify.
April 23 Day 15
5 Days left! Hang in there Red Mama!
I caught her out as I was bringing out the feed.
Nice time to get some sun.
She has always been a "lean" hen. Not unhealthy lean but an "athletic" lean.
Now she is just plain thin! Poor girl.
Under the Shell Day 15
Half way there for the little puffball weighing in at about 12-13 grams (half of it's hatch weight).
Claws, beak scales are beginning to harden.
April 24 Day 16
4 days to go!
Red got out twice yesterday!
I guess she felt it was OK since it was warmer than it had been and sunny.
Take advantage while you can right?
Under the Shell Day 16
Looks like a baby chickie now - just a little smaller.
The albumen is gone.
Almost 16 grams in weight.
Scales, claws and beak are almost completely hardened.
From here on out, the changes will be mostly positioning and preparation for hatch!!!
April 25 Day 17
3 Days left.
Under the Shell Day 17
Amniotic fluid is decreasing.
Head is positioned between legs.
Up to about 18.5 grams.
Beak turning toward air sack in preparation for breathing and hatching.
April 26 Day 18
Poor Red Chicken. Day 18 of sitting. Her comb is so shrunken and she is a rail. She gets up more often to eat now. The hunger is getting to her. Only 2 days left girl, keep on sitting!
Under the Shell Day 18
Almost there!
About 22 grams.
The yolk sack is still outside the body but, the beak is in position under the wing to break that shell.
Between today and tomorrow...
... the beak will break through the air cell and the lungs will begin to function in preparation for the outside.
April 27 Day 19
One more day.
Under the Shell Day 19
About 25.5 grams.
Yolk sack is being drawn into the body to nourish the chick for a few days after hatch.
Amniotic fluid is gone and the chick fills up the egg (minus the air sack).
April 28 Day 20
Get Ready for a Birthday Party!!!
Due today, tomorrow and the day after at the latest.
Under the Shell Day 20
Fully grown now at about 30.25 grams.
Yolk sack is completely drawn into the chick body.
The chick starts to breathe the air sack.
Internal pip.
Soon, the neck will start to spasm, causing the egg tooth to pip, or break through the shell.
It will take hours for the chick to crack around the shell and break free.
April 29 Day 21
Hatch Day
Red is fiercer than ever. She seems to be a little concerned on what is going on under her. She will freeze for a bit, and then take a look under her all around.
I fed her this morning so she would not have to get up unless she needed to.
It is a chilly windy day today and (hopefully) she will want to keep those fresh hatching chicks nice and toasty under her wings.
Under the Shell Day 21
Pretty much hatch time.
Neck spasms break the shell.
This takes hours from a pip to hatch.
Red got up between noon and 1pm to stretch her legs.
I got some photos and video.
The 2 Easter-eggers and #5 are piping.
I could hear the cheep-cheeps from inside the egg!
I went in to put them up for the nite. There would be some "cheep cheep cheep" from under Red. Red would puff up and move around a bit, tuck her head under and cluck and coo.
Hopefully Red will let them be seen and I can get some chick pics tomorrow.
I have set some fermented feed and water in the box and taped up a "wall" to help keep out the others.
Here is a video of broody behavior.
HAPPY CHICKIE HATCH DAY!
Here is a short clip of one of the chickies. It is an ameraucana mix.
Red is being a GREAT chikie mama. She is communicating and keeping the big girls away. She is keeping the babies close and staying on the rest of the clutch of eggs. I did get a peek while she was rounding up the movers and saw several eggs with crackings.
Eggs. I love eggs. "In a shell" (ha ha), they are a great, natural, nutritious, food. It is also a great way for folks who choose not to eat meat to get protein.
In my quest to live healthier, greener and more self-sustaining, I am lucky to have my own chickens (sans rooster - all girls here!) and to know exactly what is and what is not going into my eggs. An even better feeling is to know that the hens are kept happy and humanely. The chickens also make great, inexpensive, and highly entertaining pets!
I have learned a lot in the short time I have had birds. One of the most eye-opening things I have learned is about egg labeling and nutrition.
Egg labeling can be confusing. Free Range, Organic, Pastured ... which is best? Omega 3, Brown vs White ... which is healthiest? Large, AA ... What does it all mean?
Here is the break-down from the USDA (United Stated Department of Agriculture) and the American Egg Board and others.
http://www.fsis.usda.gov/Factsheets/Focus_On_Shell_Eggs/index.asp
http://www.incredibleegg.org/health-and-nutrition/egg-nutrients
First lets' look at the basics of size and quality
GRADES
I wish I got those grades...
source USDA
Eggs you find in the store come with one of 3 different grades:
U.S. Grade AA, A, and B.
These grades are basically given based on 2 factors:
1 - the interior quality
of the egg judged by candling prior to packaging
2- the condition of the egg shell prior to packaging
Keep in mind that this may or may not be the condition in which they are in at the time you purchase or consume them.
U.S. Grade AA
Whites are thick and firm; yolks that are high, round, and practically free from defects.
Shells are clean & unbroken.
U.S. Grade A
Whites are "reasonably" firm.
This is
the quality most often sold in stores.
U.S. Grade B
Whites may be thinner, yolks may be wider and flatter than eggs of higher grades.
Shells unbroken, but may have slight stains.
This quality is usually used to make liquid, frozen, and dried egg products.
SIZE
... doesn't matter.
Size is just the minimum required net weight per dozen eggs.
It does not refer to size or shape of the individual eggs.
It is the total weight of the carton that puts them in one of the following classes:
Size or Weight Class
Minimum net weight per dozen
Jumbo
30 ounces
Extra Large
27 ounces
Large
24 ounces
Medium
21 ounces
Small
18 ounces
Peewee
15 ounces
Chart from USDA
Now that the easy part is over, on to the nitty gritty.
COLOR
Eggs come in a variety of colors. Here is the truth only genetics can determine the color of egg. You can't tell by feather color or ear lobe color or if their mom laid a certain color. Some eggs may have an auburn tint and others can even be shades of green, blue or pink! Very Cool.
I have 5 hens and can tell who laid what egg by the color. But, there have even been time where a hen has "run out of toner" and lays a light color, or spotted egg.
I have seen 3 types of coloring.
1. White Shell - these are white in and out.
2. White shell "painted" - these are a white shell with pigment applied to the exterior.
3. Tinted Shell - this is when the shell itself contains pigment as with Nugget's Blue hued egg. when cracked open, you can also see blue on the inside of the eggshell and throughout the shell.
FACT: There is no difference in flavor, quality, or nutrition as a result of the color of the shell. No, really, I am not kidding. It doesn't matter.
OK kiddos, that means there is a rooster involved. If you need more explanation than that, ask your parents. The egg could be fertilized.
NO, the embryo won't develop into a chick unless the exact temperature, time and humidity have been applied.
NO, there is no difference in nutrition in fertilized vs. unfertilized eggs.
Commercial eggs are not fertile unless so labeled.
Regular 'Ole Eggs
'Y know... the ones in the store that are the cheapest. No fancy labels. Just plain old eggs. These come from large "factory farms". The hens are called "battery hens" and are "paked" several per cage; cage on top of cage, filling large warehouse buildings. They live this way from egg-laying age till death. I could go on about the miserable conditions but won't. You can learn more from the Humane Society at the following link: http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/chickens/
Anyway... that is where the majority of commercial eggs come from. This is also why they are cheapest - "stack 'em deep -n- sell 'em cheap". Although, some argument can be made for the control aspect of this style. It is possible to maintain climate, air quality, feed, medications and water at optimal levels. Predators are not an issue.
FREE RANGE, Free Roaming and Cage-Free
Free-range.
This label indicates that the flock was provided shelter in a building,
room, or area with unlimited access to food, fresh water, and
continuous access to the outdoors during their production cycle. The
outdoor area may or may not be fenced and/or covered with netting-like
material. This label is regulated by the USDA.
The outdoors area can be concrete and fenced. This label does not mean the hens have pasture or adequate space.
"The insects and other organic matter in the diet of free-range hens
may result in such a very small increase in egg protein content that
it’s considered insignificant. The nutrient content of eggs from the
same breed of hen fed the same diet is not affected by whether hens are
raised free-range or in floor or cage operations." (http://www.incredibleegg.org/egg-facts/eggcyclopedia/f/free-range-eggs).
Cage free
Eggs laid by hens at indoor floor operations, sometimes called
free-roaming hens. The hens may roam in a building, room or open area,
usually in a barn or poultry house, and have unlimited access to food
and water.
(http://www.incredibleegg.org/egg-facts/eggcyclopedia/c/cage-free-eggs)
This label does not mean the hens get adequate space.
Hormone-Free Eggs
All eggs are hormone free. In the U.S., by federal law, neither laying hens nor any other type of poultry are fed hormones. (http://www.incredibleegg.org/egg-facts/eggcyclopedia/h/hormone-free-eggs)
Omega-3 Fatty Acids
The omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and seafood are considered
essential components of the diet because your body can’t make them from
the foods you eat. Regular eggs also contain omega-3s, on average about
30 mg per egg. Omega-3-enhanced eggs provide more, from 100 to over 600
mg per egg. (http://www.incredibleegg.org/egg-facts/eggcyclopedia/o/omega-3-fatty-acids)
Organic Eggs
Eggs produced according to national USDA organic standards related to
methods, practices and substances used in producing and handling crops,
livestock and processed agricultural products.
This is all extremely complicated and comes in varying levels.
Among other requirements, organic eggs are produced by hens fed
rations having ingredients that were grown without most conventional
pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or commercial fertilizers. Due to higher production costs and lower volume
per farm, organic eggs are more expensive than eggs from hens fed
conventional feed. The nutrient content of eggs is not affected by
whether or not the ration is organic.
(http://www.incredibleegg.org/egg-facts/eggcyclopedia/o/organic-eggs)
PASTURED
A difference between free-range and pasture raised is that the birds are allowed access to pasture, not just a generic "outdoor" terminology of free range.
Usually, eggs marketed as pasture raised or pastured should also come with a humane certification.
At the time of writing this post, I was unable to find US regulations on this category. There might be, I just cant find it.
And for those who go unconventional...
Backyard Chickens allowed to "graze"
Researchers from Pen State found that pastured birds produced eggs that contained about three times more
omega-3 fat in their eggs than did birds raised on an industrial diet. They also had more vitamins A and E. (http://www.rps.psu.edu/0305/poultry.html)
My fresh eggs have a super thick shell (from the "recycled" calcium supplement), a cloudy and thick egg white, a thick and dark yolk & virtually no air sac. This means they are fresh!
So, what to I do with all these fresh, healthy eggs from my happy birdies?
Breakfast sandwiches, scrambles, fritatas and quiches; deviled eggs, egg salad breakfast pizza; sauces and dressings, baked goods and deserts, homemade pastas and noodles. You can even make hair and skin treatments - but, that is not my specialty.
You can visit my blog for some of my recipes and to learn more about my flock.
My Flock: http://mossytrees.blogspot.com/p/chickens.html
If you don't or can't raise your own birds, you can ask around for a local supplier or neighbor or local farmers market (be sure they are treating their animals humanely). Next best is to look for pasture raised and certified humane at your local store. Sometimes, people get a sticker shock to see a dozen eggs for around $8. But, really, think about it! that's only about 65 cents an egg! Still VERY cheap considering the use and mostly, how the animals get to live!!! People spend $8 on a small coffee !!! I think THAT is ridiculous!!! So, a 65 cent highly nutritious humanely sourced breakfast, or an 8 dollar flavored water?
Red Chicken died the summer before last. She had heart failure and died on the exam table before the last injection could be administered. She was a pal to me. Never liked being held or pet. But had to be nearby. She just wanted to hang out. She was a perfect chicken. Quiet unless something was wrong. Survivor. Fair and just leader. Great mother. She was a chicken that seemed wise. Laid eggs like a machine until she ran out. Then, enjoyed the retirement she deserved.
