Brown eggs & Green Egg
Straight from my parents home.
Note: The eggs pictured are from my parents chickens, there are different colors because they have different kinds of chickens. They vary in size because that’s normal. Each chicken is unique.
Having grown up on a mini-farm, not for profit, but for survival, money saving and hobby farm, I have been spoiled horribly. I was used to good eggs, with lots of flavor and different colors. It wasn’t until I was a little older and on my own, when my parents didn’t have laying hens for a while, that I saw how different healthy eggs are from mass-produces eggs.
The first thing I notices was the brown eggs were more expensive, I’m still not sure why. The second thing I noticed was they all looked the same and were just the same size. They also didn’t crack the same way. Growing up I had a hard time cracking eggs without breaking the yoke, or splitting through the inner membrane. I have since learned that healthy hens lay thicker eggs – and ones with brighter yokes.
I also learned recently that the mass produces eggs for $2 a dozen are laid by hens that are packed into tiny cages, get no exercise, possibly no natural light, and die around the age 1 ½ years because they have spent their lives doing nothing but laying eggs, standing in a tiny cage with their fellow fowl, then their bones give out. OH MY GOSH! I had no idea. To be honest, chickens are rather dumb creatures but that doesn’t mean that they don’t deserve to live happy, healthy lives scratching in a yard, eating bugs. (Yes, chickens are omnivores, they shouldn’t be fed veggie diets, but oh well, nothing is perfect.)
So for those of us whom care what happens to our food producers, one must choose Organic. There is some confusion for me about free range with eggs and fryer chickens. One of them has free range regulated and one does not. So in the end the safe bet is organic, locally grown eggs (or chicken), because these little feathered creatures are regulated. They are supposed to get to run around outside, be feed decent food, and be happy, fun loving, egg laying chickens. One more caution is make sure they are actually labeled USDA organic. The word organic is not stringently regulated right now. With that little stamp, the farmers must follow certain rules which safe guard both hen and us.
If you are looking to go truly local, if you live near, or in a rural area, get your own chickens or find someone whom wouldn’t mind sharing. It does cost money to become USDA organic certified and tiny farmers may not have the money for the cert. So support them if they seem to treat their fowl well. Chances are they will be cheaper that the $4-5 a dozen eggs in the grocery store.
Happy Egg Hunting!
