Okay, I must admit... I am slightly dissappointed! I waited so long to finally get eggs and now that I have them I can't believe they don't look or taste any different from the store bought eggs. What happened to "country eggs"? I have some white ones and brown ones but why don't they taste any different? Do I need a certain breed of chicken? My H said that the eggs he saw growing up had a dark orange yolk... mine are all just as yellow as the kind in the store! Any thoughts?
I feed them a medicated formula of egg layer, scratch feed w/ corn of course, grit and oyster shells, and all kinds of scraps (mostly vegetables & breads).
I notice a big difference in my eggs when my girls have been out and about free ranging. When they are confined to their coop and big run, their eggs just are not the same deep color. I think it is the bugs that they consume, plus the nutrients in the plants and grasses that you just cant replicate when they are confined. However, I comfort myself with the knowlege that even though there is not a visible difference in the eggs, there is a HUGE difference in the quality of life that my girls lead, as opposed to their battery cage counterparts. Plus, you know without a doubt that they have not been exposed to crazy meds or hormones.
My eggs are WAY, WAY, WAY different from store eggs.The yolk stands UP and is ORANGE, the white is more compact and is really close to the yolk. The shell is HARD! the taste is so much better .. I would say y'all must have some really good store eggs or I just don't Know what!!
Yep I have to agree--free ranging is the key. If even for a short while--they need the green leafys in their diet--why might I ask are you still using the medicated feed if they are old enough to lay??? You don't want to be eating that in your eggs do you? If you can't free range no problem--your home eggs will still be fresher than those at the market and that is certainly worth it...
Quote:I only see one problem here I found this a few days ago on the usda site Hormones can not be used in poultry production. Usda phrase "Hormones are only approved for use in beef cattle and lamb production. They are not approved for use in poultry, hogs, veal calves or exotic, non-amenable species. Therefore, the phrase "no hormones administered" on a chicken label cannot be approved unless it is followed (directly) with the statement "Federal regulations prohibit the use of hormones in poultry." http://www.fsis.usda.gov/OPPDE/larc/Claims/RaisingClaims.pdf
Mine eat alot of grass. Anyway, they were my first backyard eggs. It was a subtle taste difference, but I found my eggs to be more tender, and they have this kinda buttery taste. And a milder smell.
