Blue Booby Eggs

These are eggs from our chickens. Those three little ones on the top left are from the pullets we bought as day old chicks this spring. They are a pretty pastel blue, from Araucana pullets. I think we have one of the three laying. We got 25 female chicks (plus a free rare breed male plus a free random male to make sure there were enough to stay warm in the box) from Murray McMurray Hatchery in March. I wasn't expecting to see any eggs from them until September, so these little blue beauties are all Bonus.

In there also are eggs from our 3+ year old Orpingtons, A 2 year old Australorp and the guinea egg in the upper left corner. We are transitioning from our original flock that has dwindled down to the new birds we got this year. We have a bunch of new guineas that we hatched last year. But from the number of eggs we are getting, it seems we have a lot of cocks and maybe only one hen. We might just cull the guineas this fall. I like them for tick control, but they are noisey and proan to mischief. The Wife does not like them getting into her garden.

Those lazy chickens

These are some of our eggs next to store bought eggs. For the first time in a long time, we have had to buy eggs in the market. With the change of the seasons, length of daylight and age of our birds, they lay less and less. We are down to 1 egg a day recently. Those lazy chickens.

But I wanted to show the difference between our eggs and store bought eggs. The yolks on the left are from our free range chickens. The ones on the right are the store bought. And those were from supposed free range eggs. They are pale and small yolks. The first time we cooked with them, we didn't have any of our own eggs to mix in. The resulting scrambled eggs were so pale they could have been confused with just egg whites. I am sure there are some people who like egg whites. I like mine just fine, but not store bought ones.

Before I had chickens I never gave eggs much thought. I got guineas in order to rid my yard of ticks and other insects. My brother traded me a few egg layers for some guineas just to spice up his flock. But when I started eating the eggs, I noticed a dramatic difference. The yolks are a ruddy orange color and thicker and tastier than SB eggs. And the whites actually taste good, not like the flaccid SB whites. Fresh egg whites actually have body to them and are creamy, unlike the flimsy ones from the store.

After I tasted the difference I did some reading on the difference. It turns out a big part of it is eggs in the store are probably 30 to 60 days old. Between all the processing commercial eggs go through, it is easily a month before they end up in the consumer's fridge. Around here, we generally eat our eggs before they are a few days old. There is also the difference of feed. I do give my birds a commercial feed to supplement, particularly in the winter. But from April through late November / December, they forage in the yard for seeds, grass, insects and worms. All that extra stuff is the source of the color and taste in our yolks.

There are few things better than our own eggs fried up. Well, bacon makes them better, but bacon making is something for another day.