taste of eggs

[Hangin Wit My Peeps]

The eggs we get are VERY different tasting them the stores too. Hubby and I cooked each others eggs so we didn't know which was which when we first got them and MAN we could instantly tell which was the store egg! This was way back before we got chickens and they were all free ranged hens too. Never had eggs fro hens that were not free range so don't know if that is it or not. All I can say is they are WAY different...dark orange yolks! Just YUM. I would let them free range!

 

[arlee453]

Yolk color is caused by what they are eating. Egg producers who brag about their dark colorful yolks feed flower petals to make the yolks darker.

I notice a big difference in my girl's eggs when they have good daily dose of grass and weeds out of the larger yard than when they are confined to the run. The taste AND look of the yolks is richer.

If possible I'd free range them more, cut back on the scratch if it is more than a handful a day - it should be a VERY small percent of their diet - only as a treat.

Personally I wouldn't feed medicated feed to any chicken past the first few weeks of chick-hood UNLESS you are in a high-cocci area, or have issues with that in your flock, or it is recomended specifically for your unusual situation.

If the medication is Amprolium there isn't a withdrawl time, per se, for eggs, so it's considered safe to eat the eggs, but I'd be reluctant to eat eggs when any medication was used, and I wonder if that may be having an effect on the egg quality. By the time chickens mature, they have developed immunity to most common strains of cocci in the environment, so it's recommended to only treat symptoms/outbreaks as they occur rather than keep them on medication continually.

 

[MsBentleyboy]

Thanks for all the posts and tips. As for the medicated feed... we have a high coccidiosis in my area and I had a few test postive for the disease. However, I am just purchasing what Walmart sells as their layer feed and I'm not adding anything to it other than all natural things to help with worms (DE).

I let my chickens free range tonight but it's hard to do at times because I have to stay there with them. We have neighbor dogs that frequent our yard

and lots of wild animals such as coyotes, foxes, and raccoons. But of course most of the time they aren't seen during the day but occassionally one will wonder into the yard.

I was just curious if only certain breeds of chickens laid the "country eggs" I've always heard about with the taste and color differences. Maybe I'll just keep free ranging and see what happens.

 

[Akane]

An well placed electric wire will keep stray dogs and quite a few other critters out.

http://www.plamondon.com/faq_electric_fencing.html

 

[LilRalphieRoosmama]

Your Walmart sells feed??? How cool is that!!! Here I have two choices: the local EXPENSIVE feedstore, or Tractor Supply which doesn't carry the layer pellets. I would love to be able to buy feed at Walmart.

Anyway, diet plays a huge part and I think alot of it might also be sunlight.

 

[poltroon]

Quote:
Truth be told, I'd read the label for that Walmart feed, and if you want higher quality eggs, try a different feed for a while. Any feed Walmart carries will use the cheapest possible ingredients - ie, the same ones used by the commercial egg farms - and I would suspect that some are sourced from China. Remember, you are what your food eats.

 

[MsBentleyboy]

I'll check the ingredients of the feed to compare with the local feed store.

 

[debakadeb]

If you have a local feed store, you might check with them. I know ours uses food grade DE in a lot of the feed that they sell. I've also found that the feed I buy from them is less expensive than places like TSC and Rural King. They have also been very helpful to me when I have had questions.

I know that I had a very difficult time finding the food grade DE that I wanted to use in their run. When I called they said they didn't sell it but thought their grainery had it since it was used in a lot of the livestock feed. They sold it to be for a far cheaper price than I would have gotten by ordering it online (my other option).

I've become a big fan of local feed stores

We haven't tasted our eggs yet (got the first one yesterday) but I'm with the others -- I like the fact that these ladies are very spoiled. And truly, I don't like eggs but I love socializing with my chickens.

 

[menageriemama]

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

Interesting!! Thanks for the info

 

[MsBentleyboy]

Why would hormones be added anyway? Is it supposed to make the chickens lay more eggs??