A couple questions about eggs...probably dumb...

[kuntrychick]

Is it ok to eat eggs that are possibly fertile? Or, do most of you have the roosters separate and only eat unfertile eggs and use the fertile ones only for hatching?

I see the term "free range" a lot regarding eggs. Does that mean TOTAL free range (as in all day)....no coop or run or anything or can that also mean free ranging for a couple of hours or so a day?

Thanks in advance!

 

[CheerfulHeart2]

Some people seem to prefer fertile eggs for eating. I haven't read up on why. I think there is expectation of some health benefit. (I really don't know)

 

[onedozenphyllises]

We eat all the eggs, fertile or not. There's no difference, as far as we know. They're perfectly fine to eat and taste the same.

As for free ranging, ours are loose all day and have a coop to go into at night. I'm not sure if there's a "strict" definition for free ranging. Someone else will have to answer that!

 

[staceyl]

You can eat either. You may find a little "spec" in a fertized egg, but I personally just pull that out.
And I don't think there is a formal definition for free range. In my mind it means the chickens regularly have access to an area that's big enough that they aren't able to decimate all the vegetation in it, but as I understand it, you can label a chicken free range even if they only have access to a small outside yard.

 

[gritsar]

Yes, you can eat fertile eggs. There is no difference nutritionally or in taste. In order to see the difference, you have to know what you're looking for and look close. Some old timer farmers around here prefer fertile eggs for eating, falsely believing there are healthy benefits to it. My rooster stays with my flock of hens at all times.
To me, my free range flock means that I let them out of the coop in the morning and they wander freely, with no fences all day long. I lock them in the coop at dark to protect them from nighttime predators.
There are health benefits to free range eggs:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Natural-Health/Health-Benefits-Free-Range-Eggs.aspx

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Stacey, the "speck" can be there whether the egg is fertile or not. If the egg is fertlized, the speck will look like a bullseye.

ETA: Speckledhen's thread w/pics of fertlie vs. non-fertile eggs:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=16008

 

[staceyl]

Oh well, sorry for my ignorance! I'm new at this. Still waiting for my first eggs.

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Hey, I never knew the difference before BYC either.

 

[citrusdreams]

Quote:
Yes, it's okay to eat eggs that are possibly fertile. My rooster pastures with my hens and I'm sure all the eggs are fertile. If I want to hatch some, I just gather up what I want and put them in the incubator. If I don't care to eat a baby chick, I collect eggs every day and stick them in the fridge right away so that any possible growth ceases.

Free ranging is allowing your chickens to roam a certain bit of property. Mine free range over a few acres. Some people have less, some more. Some people range them all day from dawn till dusk and others only range them for a few hours before dusk (to protect them better from predators). The idea is to allow them to forage for a wide variety of foods in the form of bugs and grass and seeds, and keep the conditions cleaner for them than they would otherwise have penned up in a smaller area.

 

[The Zoo]

I consider mine free range and they only have access to a smallish backyard and get locked away in the pen when I'm not home and at night.
I think free range means 'not stuck in a coop all day'