This post is all about EGGS; store bought eggs versus local farm bought eggs. My own personal experience…there is a difference between store and farm fresh eggs laid by HAPPY hens who are allowed to scratch around in the dirt and eat fruit and veggie scraps as part of their diet.
There is a visual difference between the color of the egg yolk. I find that the egg yolk is a more richer color than store bought. Diet of the hens plays a HUGE part in the quality of the egg. Similar to the importance that nutrition plays in our lives!
We should all want to be informed about the different labels on egg cartons from the store. What do they mean?! Are those labels worth the additional money?!
Cage Free: These hens are usually roaming within a building, but not outside. The hens can walk around, flap their wings, and preen their feathers.
Free Range: These hens have access to roam outdoors for part of the day, although it is probably very limited and on dirt or concrete rather than pasture.
Pasture Raised: These hens are kept in moveable chicken coops that are rotated around a field. The hens have access to consume small insects as well as vegetation growing where the coop is located.
Certified Humane: The hens must be cage free, with access to perches, nest boxes, and dust-bathing areas. Outdoor access is not a requirement and debeaking is allowed.
Certified Organic: The hens are fed vegetarian feed, no cages, and no antibiotics. Debeaking and forced molting is allowed. At this time, on large organic chicken farms, access to outdoors may mean nothing more than a small door opening onto a concrete yard.
Omega 3: All eggs contain small amounts of omega 3 fatty acids and these levels in eggs can be raised by supplementing the hens’ diet with things such as fish oil, flax seed, or alfalfa meal (or by simply allowing the hens to forage on pasture/lawn).
To prevent infection, particularly in large flocks, antibiotics are given. I prefer eggs from hens that are not given antibiotics.
As a consumer, I only buy eggs from a local farm (my parent’s-located on Forsythe Road for those of you who live local). I’m lucky to have this as an option! When you buy eggs from a local farm, you have the opportunity to ask questions about how the hens are raised, the living conditions for the hens, and what the hens are fed. Unless noted on the package, the eggs bought from a store are likely coming from large farms where hens are caged (*4-6 birds in a cage where the bottom is the size of a folded piece of newspaper).
- Other Option(s) to buy eggs near Mars, PA:
-Stormy Oaks, Freedom Farms
NOTE: Be sure to visit the farms to evaluate based on the above information.
OH! There is not a difference in the taste of brown eggs or white eggs!
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Melissa Brown 