Eggs from the grocery

[wjallen05]

When my hens stopped laying, we went months without eating eggs. After a week or so I caved in and bought "free range" eggs from the grocery, and scrambled a few for breakfast but they tasted so terrible I gave them to the dog, and used the rest for baking. I am SO glad my girls are laying good again. Right now I have 5 dozen eggs in the fridge! I am getting nearly a dozen a day. The cheap eggs at the store are even worse- I agree with the super thin shells and the pale yellow yolks. Another thing is the yolks break easily, usually they turn to mush as soon as they hit the bowl. My hens eggs have a very thick shell, sometimes they are very difficult to crack. The yolks are a sun-set orange color and are firm and round. I can't believe I lived my life up until 1 1/2 years ago never having farm fresh eggs or enjoying my beloved PET chickens who now I don't think I could ever live without!

 

[OhMyItsAndyy]

The main reason for the nasty egg's in the grocery stores is because of where they come from.
I mean, normal egg's have come from chickens who haven't been put in a cage big enough for themselves, let alone the other chickens they share it with (Normally about 6 to a cage) and they never see daylight so their Vit D is low causing their egg shells to be softer. Also the stress makes their egg's worse.
Then ofcourse they normally give them some sort of medication or something to make them lay "better" egg's.
So then ofcourse you have "free range" but then they can have the same pesticides and whatnot as the factory hen's, they just live more comfortable... so you could go for "organic" where the chickens have just been left to lay, whether they are factory or not though i can't say. Thats just teh lay process though!
They clean then in wierd stuff and egg's are something (I forgot the word

) where they absorb the tastes/smell of things they are close to, so you shouldnt put egg's by onions or garlic kind of things, but obviously their cleaned in wierd stuff which will effect their taste all the more.
And then ofcourse, you have however long til' it get's to the store, and then it's shelved, and then you get it home, just in time for you to eat it!
Thats why your own egg's taste better, Organic, free range and what, 50 seconds traveling to your fridge?! Sheesh, Buying egg's is gross.

All hail HOME GROWN EGGS!!!

 

[OhMyItsAndyy]

god i haven't had a mad rant like that in a while xD

 

[cackler]

Quote:
It's crazy how the majority of people that I know have no idea - that is, until I share my eggs with them.

Then, they are converted. Thank goodness. It still amazes me at the incredible bleached whiteness of the eggs we saw today......so fake.

And that's all some people will EVER know.

 

[Sequin]

Food manufacturers and stores would sell you ocean front property with a bridge in Arizona if it meant earning a profit for their store. So I wouldn't put it past the suppliers/producers to market to what looks appealing - because that is what sells. Did you know that dog food manufacturers started putting dyes and different shapes/textures in dog food bags - because it appeals to the purchaser. The dog could care less if the kibble is all one color or a zillion colors. They make it appealing to the People, even if it is filled with junk and not a balanced nutritious diet. Because it is appealing it sells. There is so much invested in analyzing what makes people decide the way they do on what items to purchase; it's insane. But think about it - we want quality and quantity for our money. We buy things based on appearance a lot of times. If it works for dog food - why not people food too?!


What makes me smile is when some of my friends are so unsure about eating the eggs from my hens. They strongly hesitate when they see what a Real yolk looks like. But once they get the taste for Real Fresh Organic eggs - they have a hard time going back to store bought. I can scramble 2 eggs per person for breakfast and it is actually really filling. Whereas store bought eggs seem to be lacking in satisfying your hunger. Too, the store eggs seem to slip and slide all over a non-stick skillet ... however, my home-grown eggs stick like velcro to even "non-stick" surfaces. I am looking forward to making a quiche tomorrow for the first time ... I just Know it will be a yummy filling lunch. A crab, cheese, asparagus quiche. Mmmmmm- YUM!!! Yeah, LOTS of benefits for eating home-grown eggs. Oh, and to add to the list of benefits - they are lower in cholesterol and higher in Vit D than store eggs. Four to six times more vit. D!!!!! This is important for a number of health related issues including helping the immune system remain strong; which means being better able to fight off the flu.

This year we are not only increasing our flock of laying hens, but we will also raise some of them for meat. Too, we intend to expand our garden and eat more home grown fresh picked veggies. When you think about it - being self-sustaining on a small amount of land is very rewarding in more ways than one. ... Ok, Ok, I will get off my soap box now.

I just love hashing out all the pros of raising your own food.

 

[gsim]

I got into poultry and gardening last spring and the only reason I did was fear of where the economy is heading and the loss of purchasing power of the dollar. Around the world nations are dumping dollars and there is a serious move to drop the dollar as the world's reserve currency. The Fed now buys T-bills because other countries hardly come to our T-bill auctions as they once did. (Red China has been buying our debt for a decade and they are getting tired of being stiffed. Only reason they have done it is that they need to be allowed to continue plundering our markets and economy to sustain theirs.) When the central bank buys it's governments own bonds, that is called monetizing the debt and was tried by Argentina in the 1990's and by the Weimar Republic of Germany in the 1930's and other nations too and all without success. Knowing that, I was motivated to become less lazy and do my own thing to insure a healthy renewable supply of veggies and protein. Without that motivation, I would never have been smart enough or ambitious enough to do it for myself. That said, I really like raising poultry and gardening, and would continue now no matter the state of the economy.

 

[Scoop]

I just started reading a book I got for Christmas called Fast Food Nation. It talks about how it has completely changed our landscape and the way we live. When our nation was founded they were certain the real American farm would be like a forever thing. A cornerstone of sorts. They couldn't have even conceived the idea of factory farming. Maybe this is another thread, tho. I'll have to post the highlights, it's absolutely fascinating so far. Like how they have brainwashed kids with Ronald McDonald's image. Sounds like fast food had it's beginnings in Los Angelos with hot dog stands way back in the 40's.

 

[Dar]

Quote:
<Raises hand slowly>

until 2 years ago I thought all chickens looked the same, and I never seen a chicken up close until i owned one, and when I first got my girls i was afraid of birds

 

[farmin'chick]

My grandma raised White Rocks for commercial but small farm egg sales. We grew up on the cracked and dirty egg surplus -- free food! --awesome homegrown eggs nonetheless! The first time I ordered "scrambled eggs" in a restaurant I wouldn't eat them -- that pallid, nasty, yellowish, spongy mass of STUFF didn't look anything like any eggs I had ever seen! Live and learn. I keep wanting to say, "You mean, some people buy eggs at the SUPERMARKET??!!??!!??"

 

[CARS]

I may be straying off topic a bit, but it was mentioned about how production birds are caged. I have dozens of old production cages at my disposal, and hundred more if I really want to remove them from the building. I thought I would show you one.

That section of the cage has actually had a divider removed!!! I removed every other one in this 10' section for my quail.

So you can imagine how crowded those leghorns are. The water and feed is on the short end of the cage, and it sloops down to the egg tray. The eggs never get a chance to be soiled so I really don't know why they are bleaching them