needsome facts to educate others- eating fresh eggs

[magentamomma]

I would sell the eggs, not give them because people value what they pay for. I know about some crazy ideas peole have. I had to force one of my sisters to eat an egg because she couldn't believe they came from a "real" chickenI don't even know where to begin sometimes.

 

[Kait27]

If they offer money, I might take it, but I dont want to "sell" them at work, i don't know how the bosses would react that- profiting during work hours, you know? I'm not planning on giving away tons, just whenever I have an excess- I only have four chickens, and we don't use a ton of eggs. I plan to primarily give to family and the neighbors that have kindly looked the other way about the "rare ornamental garden fowl" (i'm in the poultry underground).

here's a side note you may enjoy- my mother went out to check for eggs yesterday afternoon, and apparently didn't shut the coop door tightly. When she walked by the window that looks towards the coop/backyard about an hour later, there were four chickens happily roaming the yard. She freaked out and had to catch and pick each one up and carry it to the coop, and she's never handled them before! I had tears streaming down my face from laughing, trying to envision this.

 

[annette'spets]

Thanks Akane for the info on NOT washing each egg. I thought one needed to wash them as it would be more sanitary. My girls are almost five months old and I'm learning as much on this forum as I can for when they do lay their eggs-17 of laying age.Hope I can sell at $3.00 a doz. to pay for feed etc. Need to do like these other people with some nice write up about the reasons for "free range" . Luckily, most people have asked me but will give some away 'til THEY WANT TO BUY!

 

[gritsar]

The information sheet I include in every carton of eggs I sell (except for my long-term egg customers that have no problem with farm fresh eggs):

ABOUT FARM FRESH EGGS

There are some noticeable differences in free range eggs vs. store bought eggs.

Orange yolks - My chickens free range all day. They are never in cages. This provides them with a diet rich in greens. I supplement their diet with corn. Greens and corn produce an egg with a deep orange yolk.

Blood spots/meat spots - These are common and occur during the formation of the yolk within a hen's body. They DO NOT indicate a fertile egg. The reason you rarely see them in store bought eggs is that store bought eggs are candled before packaging. Eggs showing blood or meat spots during candling are sold for use in making animal feeds and other products.

Cloudy whites - When a hen lays an egg the air cell inside the egg is full of carbon dioxide; which clouds the white. As the egg ages the carbon dioxide escapes through the pores in the eggshell in exchange for oxygen. Once the level of oxygen inside the egg is higher than the level of carbon dioxide, the white clears. Cloudy whites are a sign of a really fresh eggs.

According to a recent study by Mother Earth News, free range eggs have*:

1/3 less cholesterol
1/4 less saturated fat
7 times more beta carotene
2/3 more vitamin A
2 times more omega 3 fatty acids
3 times more vitamin E

*As compared to USDA data for factory farm eggs

Enjoy your farm fresh eggs!

I have a waiting list for my eggs. One guy told DH that even though he can buy eggs at the farmer's co-op, they don't have the same taste as mine. The captain's wife, on the other hand, freaked the first time she saw the brown eggs I sell. That's why I'm getting some easter eggers in the spring. I love to mess with her head.

 

[annette'spets]

Thank you, excellent information for customers- I didn't know that about the cloudy verses clear either. Lots to learn.

 

[TheCoopers]

Thanks for the Information.
gritsar that is a nice information sheet.thanks for sharing it.

 

[digitS']

I think washing the eggs in the manner recommended by the food safety people at our land-grant universities would be the best idea.

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Try to read the information around those photographs of really, really dirty eggs. I find that it helps to put a "yellow sticky" over the top of a distraction like that

just so I can read the words beside it.

Steve

 

[Kittymomma]

digitS' :

I think washing the eggs in the manner recommended by the food safety people at our land-grant universities would be the best idea.

University of Nebraska–Lincoln

Try to read the information around those photographs of really, really dirty eggs. I find that it helps to put a "yellow sticky" over the top of a distraction like that

just so I can read the words beside it.

Steve

Ewww! It looks like they took eggs and rolled them around in a few fresh piles of chicken poo.

I get the occasional dirty (Not like those!) egg, but keeping the nest boxes clean and enough mulch in front of the pop door so they don't track mud into the nests when they go to lay has pretty much eliminated dirty eggs here. I wouldn't buy/eat eggs like that weather they washed them or not.​

 

[digitS']

Quote:
Me either . . .

 

[thefishery]

The biggest thing that sold us in the beginning was that store bought eggs could be several months old.