Nutrient rich Eggs

[Paula_me]

Hi

How do you all feed your girls? I want the best eggs as I can get, as I am sure we all do.. I've read that feeding soy based food will make the eggs rich in omega 6 instead of 3, and there will be soy product in the egg. Have you heard of that?
Thanks Paula

 

[LarryPQ]

Ummm...no. I hadn't heard that.

But since I have no idea if that is a good thing or a bad thing, I will just not worry about it and have this cookie for breakfast

 

[gritsar]

IMO, the very best way to make a nutrient packed egg, without spending a fortune on specialty feeds, is to feed a good quality feed and let the chickens free range. Nature already has what they need to make good eggs.

 

[WoodlandWoman]

Green feed or being on pasture will cause the eggs to have more of the good fatty acids you are looking for. This will happen even if you are feeding a typical commercial feed along with it. Plus, they will have more of certain vitamins and less cholesterol. It's the dark leafy greens they should eat, including grass. I also have clover, alfalfa, chard, spinach, kale and dark leafy lettuce growing here. There's a bunch of other stuff growing, too. I'm always experimenting with growing new things. The clover and alfalfa are legumes and provide more protein than other greens, so I like to offer them as a choice.

In the winter I grow wheat grass for them and sprout alfalfa seeds into leafy greens. Alfalfa seed is more expensive, so that's more of a treat. Wheat seed is cheaper, so they get more of that.

 

[turtlebird]

If I am not mistaken, an all-grain diet will lead to an egg with higher omega-6
If your ladies have access to greens (grass, dandelions, lettuces, etc) and those lovely juicy BUGS, their eggs will have higher omega-3 levels
I feed my ladies Layena and they are on pasture. Free choice calcium and grit. Black oil sunflower seeds for a treat, oh and some table scraps. Fresh water with ACV.
If you are not able to free-range/pasture your chickens, give them a handful of clean fresh (chemical free) short grass clippings.
As far as soy goes....well that is a long winded, hotly debated (and respectfully discussed) issue here on BYC and elsewhere in livestock forums! Search for some of the discussions, there are many many well-informed people here that can help you out with that.
I think a lot can be said for the nutrient content of the eggs from happy well cared for chickens. Also, just watching your happy chickens reduces stress and therefore contributes to one's overall health!
Have fun!
OH, and