Back Yard Eggs Nutrition . . . ???

[Whitewater]

Ok, admittedly I'm new to the world of backyard, urban chickens but I've been seeing everywhere that backyard eggs (produced, I assume, by the very same backyard chickens we all talk about here) are more nutritionally sound, have more omega three, more vitamin A, less bad stuff, etc etc than the regular ol' white eggs you buy for cheap at the big grocery store. Sounds great, right? I mean, yay for eggs that can do all that and are better for you

But I'm having a hard time understanding how these same chickens can produce better, more healthy eggs when they get fed mass-produced (probably genetically modified, pesticide-ized, definitely non-organic) feed, which I assume includes grains and other nutritional sources.

Granted, our backyard chickens also get our scraps which could include organic produce and so on, but how does the backyard chicken owner make sure that his eggs from his flock are any better than the grocery store ones if he feeds his hens the same stuff that the factory chickens get?

Unless I'm totally mistaken, which I could be, because I'm new (and my apologies in advance if I'm making incorrect assumptions here), it seems to me that the only way to get a pesticide-free, chemical-free egg would be to feed your hens totally organic feed.

Right? Wrong?

I feel like there's something I'm missing here. How will my hens (which I'm going to get if all the stars align, in 3 months) possibly be able to give me a good product -- better than factory hen eggs -- if they're eating standard Chicken Feed? I can't quite figure that one out.

Anyway, I'm in a bit of a puzzle myself because the only place within a 20 minute drive (one way) of me that sells ANY chicken feed whatsoever (and heaven help me if I want to feed my hens organic feed . . . .) year-round only sells, as far as I can remember, regular old chicken feed.

What do I feed my hens to ensure that the eggs I get are chemical-free? Will regular Chicken Feed do the trick? How does that work? Is it a product of the backyard hen environment, that they're not all squished together and are healthy and happy?

I just don't understand the seeming contradiction. Can somebody explain? What do you guys feed your eggs? How do you make sure your eggs are organic? Do you even care whether or not they're organic? Does organic feed make a difference?


Yours, in bafflement,


Whitewater

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Rather than type in the full explanation I'll give you a link that explains it better than I can.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs.aspx

If you keep the birds confined all the time and feed only bagged feed you get eggs that are not much different than factory eggs.

It's green feed, exercise, and sunlight that makes the difference.

.....Alan.

 

[AnnainMD]

A.T. Hagan :

Rather than type in the full explanation I'll give you a link that explains it better than I can.

http://www.motherearthnews.com/eggs.aspx

If you keep the birds confined all the time and feed only bagged feed you get eggs that are not much different than factory eggs.

It's green feed, exercise, and sunlight that makes the difference.

.....Alan.

What he said.

I also will be feeding regular chicken food, as there is no local source for organic feed (though I may order it from countrysidenaturals, haven't decided yet). However, I can attest to the "goodness" of the eggs. We sampled eggs from three different "pastured" sources last year. And the ones that were allowed to completely free-range (just surrounded by electric portable fencing for some predator protection) were by far and away the best eggs with the most phenomenal colored yolks. Those chickens had free access to chicken feed as well but were fed scraps, ate the bugs outside and got into the compost pile. We pay $5 or 4 per dozen and don't mind it at all.
I loved the chickens so much, I now have my own!​

 

[sevenchickens]

There is nothing like eating an egg that was laid just for you (I may be reaching a bit) that morning. Not only can you provide a quality of life that shows in the quality of the egg, but the freshness is second to none. They will become pampered pets that happen to make you breakfast.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Yes, it's the diet that makes the difference. You can read up on the difference between being grain fed or pastured in beef and other animals raised for meat, also. It's the same thing with chickens that are raised for meat or the eggs that layers produce. Chickens that are allowed to will naturally eat grasses and other leafy greens, along with the bugs that they love so much.

If you can safely free range your chickens, that is a great way for them to live and will make them and their eggs healthier. Even letting them out for only an hour or so a day is better than not letting them out at all.

You can also give them lots of different things to eat in their run, if they must be confined all the time. You can feed them dark leafy greens and most of the healthy foods that you eat. No avocado, no chocolate and keep salt and fats to a minimum. If you garden, plant a little extra for them. You can even do a garden tray of grass for them, that you can put in the run until it gets eaten down. Or grow pots of chard that you put in and take back out to recover. Some people sprout for them. I do in the winter, when their natural forage is under a couple of feet of snow. I grow wheat grass for the cats and chickens in the winter, too.

What's good for them isn't that different than what's good for us.

 

[horsejody]

Also, just because a large portion of their diet is bagged feed, don't count on the commercial operations to be buying as high of a quality of feed for the ones in the tiny cage. Our backyard chickens are also healthier because they have the freedom to move around. Healthier chickens have healthier eggs.

 

[claud]

Some sources say it's the sunlight. I don't think there is a whole lot of research done on that.
The Mother Earth article is a good one.

If they are confined to a run don't forget to give them all your grass clippings in the warm months - they love it.

 

[Whitewater]

Huh.

Well, the plan is for our 3 to be "semi-free-range", which is a term I've coined myself (though others may be using it, 'cause, hello, newbie). They will need to stay in their coop/run a bit (here's hoping it's big enough, 6'5" square and 8 feet high for 3 hens) but I plan, at least in the warm non-snowy months, to get them out and into the back yard for at least a few hours each day. In winter, I hope to get them out of their coop (if they'll leave!) for an hour or two, about the same as the dogs get. The yard is nice and sunny, our hens will get a ton of sun! And fresh air, and exercise. So spoiled.

I'm not worried about them tearing up the grass in our yard 'cause we don't have alot! Some, but it's mostly weeds that act like ground cover. Those weeds are tough, they'll survive. And they won't be able to get to the garden, save for some beans and cucumber leaves (and probably some pepper foliage also), because it's fenced off, including the strawberries and raspberry canes (this summer will be their second year) that are in the backyard. I originally fenced them off because of the dogs, but hey, if it keeps the chickens out too, it's good.

And yeah, I was going to grow extra in our garden for them and feed them scraps and so on so they're not totally dependent on the bagged feed -- my reading suggests that green stuff is INCREDIBLY important for their good health. We have lots of dandelions! And in the wintertime, now that I have a (admittedly small) grow light system in the basement, I can grow green stuff (spinach or lettuces, maybe?) for them too.

Something I read about on this forum is flax seed . . . I can get human grade organic at our local big grocery store for not too much money, this sounds like a reasonable plan to naturally upgrade the Omega 3 content in our hen's eggs. And besides, apparently flaxseed is good for hen's looks, always a plus!

And corn in the winter for extra energy.

From everything you guys have told me, our plan for feeding our chickens means that we *will* have better, healthier, tastier eggs than what you can get at the store, which is a relief!

And it just goes to show how important sun, fresh air, and exercise are to a good life!


Whitewater

 

[pardenx3]

I can undoubtly taste a difference in our backyard eggs, vs. store bought. Big difference in diet does have a lot to do with it.

 

[Warthog]

"You are what you eat"

I think this is true for any species including us.

I feed my girls with regular feed, I can't get anything else around here, they free range 8/10 hours a day, and get scraps for treats.

Once you have tasted one of your backyard eggs, you will not eat a store bought egg, and you will better understand what we all mean.

If you can, make a bigger coop/run than you need, you will want more girlies.

I started with 12 and have now got 40.

Good luck