Guest guest Posted April 26, 2006 Report Share Posted April 26, 2006 Luke and all, Botan of DUCK EGG fame has spent a tremendous amount of money testing the nutrients of his duck eggs. He has followed different diets and production techniques through to the egg to determine quality and quantity of nutrients. His eggs are the gold standard around here! If you want to test eggs Botan can give you contacts for doing so, although I'll warn you, be prepared to spend lots of money (he can give you exact amounts). I'd say VISUAL EXAMINATION of eggs is a pretty good determinate of both freshness and quality. You want: 1) A good strong shell that is uniform and thick. Washing the eggs is good for sales but damages the natural sealants. 2) The white should be strong and viscous with no opacities, off-odors or blood spots (these are more of an aesthetic problem and not harmful to eat) 3) The yolk should stand up tall and proud, not be fragile and should be as bright and dark orange as possilble. Only eat FREE-RANGE (PASTURED) OMEGA 3, ORGANIC, FERTILIZED EGGS Don't forget to eat your eggs RAW every chance you get! MERCOLA: " eggs are the best breakfast food in the world! " MERCOLA: eggs do not need refrigeration MERCOLA: Your chance of getting salmonella from a (good) raw egg is almost zero. Will DON'T FORGET TO DELETE DEAD MESSAGES AND TRAILERS BEFORE SENDING YOURS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Belinda, > I've been selling eggs for a while now. We are in the middle of some > very dry weather. The yolks are not as yellow as one of my customers > would like. There is something, other than fresh green grass, that > will make them yellow but I cannot remember what. Can anyone help me > with this? The birds are free range but it is just so darn dry.... Do your chickens really eat grass? My Silkies will eat lettuce and some greens, but I have never seen them peck at grass, weeds or anything except bugs, blackberries, fallen plums, apricots and peaches. They go for the bugs in the grass, but not the grass. Maggots are a major delicacy for chickens. Drought can be super tough on critters though. The bugs these guys eat aren't as plentiful when the rain doesn't come. And I know that folks selling eggs can be in a real bind since the feed required for pristine eggs is more expensive than the eggs will fetch. That said, I would recommend feeding them all of your kitchen scraps - including good meat gristle, moldy cheese, and everything those omnivorous chickies will eat. I soak all the grain my hens get, not that it matters much, but in a drought it might add some umph. The eggs I get from my chickens and my neighbor's are orange in color, but that may be because we have a few birds on a large lot. Diet will definitely affect color, but not always the nutritional profile. Maybe those tomatoes, carrot peels and bad cherries I chuck out the kitchen door help? Orange pigmented foods will help - yams, carrots, corn, etc. Sun will definitely be a factor in the nutritive value of the eggs, which is super important. Are they in a covered area/tractor that gets some sun? Finally, if you don't compost, start. Attract all the bugs you can and your birds will chow them down for good nutrition. As an aside: Some of my best gardening comes from surprise offererings from where the compost bin used to reside. Presently I have striped spaghetti squash and loads of tomatoes growing from the seeds that were in the compost bin before it moved. If I don't pick the tomatoes when they are green, the chickens will! HTH, Deanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Marigolds. NJL Egg yolk color I've been selling eggs for a while now. We are in the middle of some very dry weather. The yolks are not as yellow as one of my customers would like. There is something, other than fresh green grass, that will make them yellow but I cannot remember what. Can anyone help me with this? The birds are free range but it is just so darn dry.... Belinda in TN Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 21, 2007 Report Share Posted June 21, 2007 Wonder when the neighbors go on vacation. <G> Belinda > > Marigolds. > > NJL > Egg yolk color > > > I've been selling eggs for a while now. We are in the middle of some > very dry weather. The yolks are not as yellow as one of my customers > would like. There is something, other than fresh green grass, that > will make them yellow but I cannot remember what. Can anyone help me > with this? The birds are free range but it is just so darn dry.... > > Belinda in TN > > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 Marigold petals will, but I don't think it increases the nutritional content as much as colors it more like food coloring, which seems to me like dishonesty. I've heard some farmers sprout grains for their cattle/birds in dry/winter weather to keep up the nutritional content. Maybe make them some wheatgrass? I think it can be pretty easily done, start in a 5 gal bucket with an 8 hour soak then several times a day rinse and drain, with a loose cover (like burlap). When they start to get sprouts, lay them out in a flat tray (maybe a plastic sheet?) where they can get some light to green up but not so much they get dried, and be sure to keep moist. Feed them when they're green. If that's not clear enough, I think Harvey Ussery, of www.themodernhomestead.us is WAP and has done it. --- In , " labelleacres " <bilherbs@...> wrote: > > I've been selling eggs for a while now. We are in the middle of some > very dry weather. The yolks are not as yellow as one of my customers > would like. There is something, other than fresh green grass, that > will make them yellow but I cannot remember what. Can anyone help me > with this? The birds are free range but it is just so darn dry.... > > Belinda in TN > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 22, 2007 Report Share Posted June 22, 2007 All great ideas, thanks. Yes, our chickens love new grass, not the old tough stuff. We have a " chicken bucket " under the sink. In it goes every bit of household leftovers, egg shells, sour milk and it all goes to the chickens. When we clean fish they get the parts we don't want. When we butcher they get whatever we don't eat. It is the grass that is not growing. The hen yard (one acre) has the compost pile in it and we put goat stall muckings in the pile when we aren't putting them straight on the garden. The chickens have a house with laying/nest boxes, not a tractor. They've got the acre fenced in with holes in the fence so they really end up running around 3-4 acres. Some are roosting in trees rather than going in the house in this heat. I'm going to mow their area more often and put the bagger on the lawn mower when I do the rest of the place and feed the clippings. I am also considering dropping the one customer (out of 20) who is making noise about the yolk color. He is also upset about the size of the eggs. It might just be time for him to go to Wal-Mart! Belinda > Do your chickens really eat grass? My Silkies will eat lettuce and > some greens, but I have never seen them peck at grass, weeds or > anything except bugs, blackberries, fallen plums, apricots and > peaches. They go for the bugs in the grass, but not the grass. > Maggots are a major delicacy for chickens. > > Drought can be super tough on critters though. The bugs these guys > eat aren't as plentiful when the rain doesn't come. And I know that > folks selling eggs can be in a real bind since the feed required for > pristine eggs is more expensive than the eggs will fetch. That said, > I would recommend feeding them all of your kitchen scraps - including > good meat gristle, moldy cheese, and everything those omnivorous > chickies will eat. I soak all the grain my hens get, not that it > matters much, but in a drought it might add some umph. The eggs I get > from my chickens and my neighbor's are orange in color, but that may > be because we have a few birds on a large lot. Diet will definitely > affect color, but not always the nutritional profile. Maybe those > tomatoes, carrot peels and bad cherries I chuck out the kitchen door > help? Orange pigmented foods will help - yams, carrots, corn, etc. > Sun will definitely be a factor in the nutritive value of the eggs, > which is super important. Are they in a covered area/tractor that > gets some sun? > > Finally, if you don't compost, start. Attract all the bugs you can > and your birds will chow them down for good nutrition. As an aside: > Some of my best gardening comes from surprise offererings from where > the compost bin used to reside. Presently I have striped spaghetti > squash and loads of tomatoes growing from the seeds that were in the > compost bin before it moved. If I don't pick the tomatoes when they > are green, the chickens will! > > > HTH, > Deanna > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 What breed are you using? We have a Welsummer among our flock and I am hugely impressed with this breed. The yolks of the eggs are giant, the eggs are as big as our turkey's eggs, and the hen put on good weight at a fast pace, if you get them mixed and use some for meat. I like the heavies for free range because you don't have to worry about them always flying over the fences and getting where they don't belong (like my garden!) Our brown leghorn and the americaunas are always in the garden diggin up my baby plants. GRRRR! I've decided to quit doing americuanas because the fluffy cheeks give them poor peripheral vision, make them easy targets. The green eggs are neat, tho. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 23, 2007 Report Share Posted June 23, 2007 We've had a mixed mess of breeds but am moving towards getting just one or two going. Purchased some Buff Orphingtons this spring and have fallen in love. They are also a large breed and the boys haven't got much longer to live. Haven't had any eggs yet. Got the answer as to what to feed to make the yolk brighter yellow, tumeric. I knew there was something and it was making me crazy not to remember. Seeing as I have about 20 customers all saying how wonderful the eggs are I'm not going to change a thing. The one with the problem might find us short on eggs for the next couple of weeks. Let him buy them at the store and maybe he'll be happy when we have plenty again! Belinda --- In , " haecklers " <haecklers@...> wrote: > > What breed are you using? We have a Welsummer among our flock and I am > hugely impressed with this breed. The yolks of the eggs are giant, the > eggs are as big as our turkey's eggs, and the hen put on good weight at > a fast pace, if you get them mixed and use some for meat. > > I like the heavies for free range because you don't have to worry about > them always flying over the fences and getting where they don't belong > (like my garden!) Our brown leghorn and the americaunas are always in > the garden diggin up my baby plants. GRRRR! > > I've decided to quit doing americuanas because the fluffy cheeks give > them poor peripheral vision, make them easy targets. The green eggs > are neat, tho. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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