We often get questions regarding flock management here at Patriot's Dream. There are so many confusing elements to what we hear in the media and the marketing of eggs, that many have chosen to buy fresh eggs from local growers in order to know how the chickens are fed and cared for. But sometimes folks have even more in depth questions. Since I have been meaning to do a blog about this, today's question sent me to the keyboard.
Today's question was if our eggs were "for sure" not fertilized. Actually, no. At Patriot's Dream, the chickens roam mostly free. The exception to that is the show chickens, who like their own pen. While they are capable of getting out, they reserve it for occasional jaunts to go riding on the pygmy buck's head. The other notable exception, we segregate babies away from the rest of the flock until they are large enough to hold their own in the pecking order. Right now, that means there is one rooster (an oops purchase) in the baby area, one rooster in the show pen, and two roosters (a father and a son known here as Sergeant Major and Junior) who run the property. Therefore, some eggs are fertile, others are not.
While an egg may be fertile, that does not mean it is viable. We collect eggs a few times each day. The eggs are washed off in a cool bath, which stops them from being warm enough to develop into anything. Then they go into the fridge, which stops any development not already halted. You see, in order for them to develop, they must be incubated by nesting with Mama hen or in an incubator.
When chickens are truly allowed to roam free, this leads to a daily egg hunt. If we find a clutch where we might not have looked the day before, the eggs are floated. In practice, we find it easier to just float them all, but we carefully float anything we might think was viable an extra time so we can get it back out under the hens quickly.What is floating? Floating is a means to determining whether an egg is fresh or not. A fresh egg will sink. A not as fresh egg will let one end begin to rise, or a really not fresh egg will float.
Notice, the one on the left came in the house right before I took the photo. The one on the right came from an area where we hadn't noticed them laying before, then I kept it on the counter so it would make a good photo for this purpose. The picture didn't come out as well, but the egg is floating up at the water line on the left side. When they find eggs they are suspicious of right away, we float them quickly, then if they are not sinkers, we dry them, mark them and keep them warm on the way back out to where they sneak them under whichever hen is feeling broody. That is how Pearl ended up hatching phoenix babies recently.According to the books, an egg can go up to three days without refridgeration. Some say (anecdotally) that eggs peel better if they are not refridgerated that first day. Especially here in southern Arizona, we don't want to tempt fate, and get them into the fridge the first day they are laid.
There are a number of classifications for the raising of chickens you find in a store. From free range to cage free, humanely raised, and so many more. How would you like to see your eggs produced? and the meat chickens? What would you like them to be fed? For your reference, the following are the main classifications for eggs:
- Conventional- these regular supermarket eggs come from large "factory" farms where cage systems are used. Food, water, temperature, light and security are controlled for optimal production.
- Nutrient-enriched- Some hens that are raised commercially are fed a special diet in order to add to the nutient content of the eggs they lay. It could be folate, omega-3, lutein, or other nutrients.
- Organic- The hens are raised according to organic standards, including being fed organic feed which is free of commercial pesticides, fungicides, or ferilizers.
- Cage Free- Hens are raised indoors, on floors where they are allowed to roam. The area where they roam could be a room, building, or open area where they have access to unlimited food and water.
- Free-Range- There is no official USDA definition for this term, but in general it means the hens have access to the outdoors. There are no rules for the amount of time or the type of outdoor access.
- Humanely raised- there is no officially recognized definition for this one, either. But there is a humane growers group which generally encourages tat the chickens are allowed to roam outdoors, with shelter and unlimited access to food.
Growers who produce at the farmers markets around Tucson are required to mark their eggs as unclassified. This means they are not officialy graded. We are required to register with the state and maintain certain standards, but are not allowed to label our eggs as classified in any of the above categories. And we are allowed to reuse egg cartons. We have to register on our aperwork how we raise the animals, but mostly for our customers' information.
A great way to learn more about where your food comes from can be to visit the local grower you purchase it from. We love to host tours at Patriot's Dream, although we do prefer to schedule them in advance so that we are certain to be here and available, and not rush anyone who comes to see us.
I will try to continue to post more information, on questions like the colors of eggs, the advantages in egg production of different choices, the nutrition advantages, and the like, but we really welcome your questions. I will do my best to answer them!
Enjoy your fresh eggs! We definitely agree that they taste better. If you would like to schedule a tour, email us at info@ourpatriotsdream.com or watch for an open house coming up soon. Good health and wellness to you all!
