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  #1   ^
Old Fri, May-10-19, 10:16
Bob-a-rama's Avatar
Bob-a-rama Bob-a-rama is offline
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Posts: 1,953
 
Plan: Keto (Atkins Induction)
Stats: 235/175/185 Male 5' 11"
BF:
Progress: 120%
Location: Florida
Default Pasture raised eggs - yummmy

OK I've been converted.

I found that 'free range' eggs means the chickens could just be in a bigger warehouse instead of small cages. That's kinder for the hens.

But pasture raised means outdoors, even if crowded in a field where they can scratch for grubs and eat passing insects.

There was a sale and I tried some. WOW!!!

1) The yolk has more color and more taste
2) The shells are more solid
3) Even after hard boiling, the shell comes off the egg without taking part of the egg with it.
4) They just taste better, like the eggs of my youth.

I've tried Happy Egg and Vital Farms brands and IMHO they are worth the extra dollar.

Bob
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  #2   ^
Old Fri, May-10-19, 11:21
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
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Posts: 19,176
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

YUP!!

I have chickens, and there is one group that free ranges all over the farm at will with 2-3 roosters as guards. I dont keep track of them other than to put out feed and water. They go whereever they want, then roost in the barn at night. ANd leave me eggs in the old rabbit hutch... or a corner of a stall.... or where ever they choose.

Taste so much better!!!

We have turkey eggs and duck eggs too!! Yum!
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  #3   ^
Old Fri, May-10-19, 18:20
Bob-a-rama's Avatar
Bob-a-rama Bob-a-rama is offline
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Posts: 1,953
 
Plan: Keto (Atkins Induction)
Stats: 235/175/185 Male 5' 11"
BF:
Progress: 120%
Location: Florida
Default

Letting the hens eat bugs like nature intended seems to be the best way to make an egg. And the proof is in the taste

I can't have chickens here, although our lot is big enough. There is a nature preserve about 300 feet away. My neighbor tried to raise chickens but all he did was feed the coyotes.

I guess they have to eat too.

The coyotes are new around here (Florida) and since they arrived, the rabbit population has diminished greatly too.

I've also seen a bobcat in my yard a few times in many years, and we get visited by raccoons, opossums, snakes (a 6 foot coachwhip lives under my house), grey fox, sandhill cranes, gopher tortoise, and quite a few other wild creatures.

I've seen alligators cross from the preserve to our west to the lagoon to our east, but not in my yard.

Bob
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  #4   ^
Old Sat, May-11-19, 03:17
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Merpig Merpig is offline
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Posts: 7,582
 
Plan: EF/Fung IDM/keto
Stats: 375/225.4/175 Female 66.5 inches
BF:
Progress: 75%
Location: NE Florida
Default

Zoning laws don’t allow chickens where I live though people have complained about it so that may be changed. Not sure I’d get chickens anyway though I like the idea. But what would I do with them if I wanted to go on vacation or something? It’s easy to get sitters for the cats and dog, but chickens? 😂

So I just buy pastured-raised eggs at the grocery store. They are expensive compared to conventional eggs of course but as long as I can afford it I’ll keep buying them. It’s still probably cheaper than trying to keep my own chickens!
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  #5   ^
Old Sat, May-11-19, 05:29
JEY100's Avatar
JEY100 JEY100 is online now
Posts: 13,368
 
Plan: P:E/DDF
Stats: 225/150/169 Female 5' 9"
BF:45%/28%/25%
Progress: 134%
Location: NC
Default

Though Arielle won’t think it funny, For a laugh, read through Tom Naughton’s blog posts (category The Farm Report) about raising chickens on his hobby farm in TN. His many attempts at fighting off enumerated Rocky Raccoons, VIII is latest, coyotes, a range of flying predators with various enclosures, nets, fences, traps, etc. I read his tales of hard labor and buy eggs at the farmers market. One of my favorite egg suppliers at the farmers market finally gave up she lost so many chickens and only raises goats. Another farmer uses guardian dogs, an entire family of Great Pyrenees, and moveable chicken condos.
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  #6   ^
Old Wed, May-15-19, 09:41
Bonnie OFS Bonnie OFS is offline
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Posts: 2,573
 
Plan: Dr. Bernstein
Stats: 188/150/135 Female 5 ft 4 inches
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: NE WA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bob-a-rama
1) The yolk has more color and more taste
2) The shells are more solid
3) Even after hard boiling, the shell comes off the egg without taking part of the egg with it.
4) They just taste better, like the eggs of my youth.


Having my own chickens for years, I agree with 1, 2, & 4, but not 3. If I want to take deviled eggs to a potluck, I buy a dozen at the store. Or I end up making deviled egg salad, which is just as good, but not finger food. But maybe it's just my chickens; they are a mixed bunch of different breeds & ages.

When the hens are producing more eggs than we can eat, I give away the extras to friends. Most people are happy to get them, but 1 friend declined after the first dozen. She said they tasted too "eggy" & store bought eggs were not as strongly flavored.
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  #7   ^
Old Wed, May-15-19, 10:26
Verbena Verbena is offline
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Posts: 1,056
 
Plan: My own
Stats: 186/155/150 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 86%
Location: SW PNW
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Bonnie OFS
Having my own chickens for years, I agree with 1, 2, & 4, but not 3. If I want to take deviled eggs to a potluck, I buy a dozen at the store. Or I end up making deviled egg salad, which is just as good, but not finger food. But maybe it's just my chickens; they are a mixed bunch of different breeds & ages.

When the hens are producing more eggs than we can eat, I give away the extras to friends. Most people are happy to get them, but 1 friend declined after the first dozen. She said they tasted too "eggy" & store bought eggs were not as strongly flavored.


Bonnie, I agree about the "peeling properties" of newly laid eggs. During laying season I keep a dozen eggs (dated) in the back of the fridge fo those times when I want undamaged peeled eggs; after about 2 weeks they are still perfectly good, but much easier to peel. I've also learned that steaming the eggs, rather than boiling them, makes them easier to peel, even eggs laid just that day!
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  #8   ^
Old Wed, May-15-19, 10:34
Bonnie OFS Bonnie OFS is offline
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Posts: 2,573
 
Plan: Dr. Bernstein
Stats: 188/150/135 Female 5 ft 4 inches
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: NE WA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Verbena
I've also learned that steaming the eggs, rather than boiling them, makes them easier to peel, even eggs laid just that day!


I'm going to have to try that - but old habits are hard to kick! The eggs are in the water before I think about it.

How long should they be steamed for hard cooked eggs?
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  #9   ^
Old Wed, May-15-19, 12:01
Bob-a-rama's Avatar
Bob-a-rama Bob-a-rama is offline
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Posts: 1,953
 
Plan: Keto (Atkins Induction)
Stats: 235/175/185 Male 5' 11"
BF:
Progress: 120%
Location: Florida
Default

Steam them? I'm lucky I know how to boil them

I put them in a pot, fill with cold water, add a little salt, bring to a boil, keep them at a low boil for 8 minutes, cool them under running water, peel and eat. Have a couple of cheese slices for extra fat, and lunch doesn't get much easier than that.

I'm self-employed so I get to pick which 16 hours of the day I'll spend working.

Bob
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  #10   ^
Old Wed, May-15-19, 12:31
Verbena Verbena is offline
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Posts: 1,056
 
Plan: My own
Stats: 186/155/150 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 86%
Location: SW PNW
Default

I have a medium sized saucepan with a steamer insert, just perfect for eggs. I like my "hard" cooked eggs slightly runny in the middle still (not for deviled eggs obviously), so put the eggs in the basket over the boiling water for about 7 minutes. For harder eggs I'd up that to 10 or 11 minutes. I did an experiment once with one egg from the fridge and another from the nest box; they both peeled cleanly. It isn't 100% all the time though, so no promises about how they will turn out :-).
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  #11   ^
Old Wed, May-15-19, 12:40
Bonnie OFS Bonnie OFS is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,573
 
Plan: Dr. Bernstein
Stats: 188/150/135 Female 5 ft 4 inches
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: NE WA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Verbena
It isn't 100% all the time though, so no promises about how they will turn out :-).


Thanks! No matter how they look, they still taste great.
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  #12   ^
Old Wed, May-15-19, 16:38
Ms Arielle's Avatar
Ms Arielle Ms Arielle is offline
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Posts: 19,176
 
Plan: atkins, carnivore 2023
Stats: 200/211/163 Female 5'8"
BF:
Progress: -30%
Location: Massachusetts
Default

There can be many predator issues. I too abutt conservation land and coyote and deer have paths across my property.....racoons are a problem at times but not for birds roosting up high in a barn.Fencing keeps out most trouble makers. I didnt replace my guard dog.


Crap happens. The survivors breed the next generation.... breeds a smart and savvy bird.

And they make the best eggs.
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  #13   ^
Old Wed, May-15-19, 18:05
Bob-a-rama's Avatar
Bob-a-rama Bob-a-rama is offline
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Posts: 1,953
 
Plan: Keto (Atkins Induction)
Stats: 235/175/185 Male 5' 11"
BF:
Progress: 120%
Location: Florida
Default

We live between a protected wetland and a lagoon. I've seen coyotes, raccoons, a bobcat, opossums, a fox, and a neighbor swears she's seen a jaguarundi. The jaguarundi is an introduced species in Florida since the early 20th century so it's not out of the question. I've seen alligators walk to or from the wetlands to the lagoon, not in our yard, but in others. The Burmese Python has also traveled this far north, I haven't seen any up here, but I wouldn't doubt that they are in the wetlands. I'm afraid keeping chickens would just be food for predators, and probably cruel for the hens.

A neighbor at the dead-end of the street tried chickens, but they lasted only a few weeks.

So I get the eggs from the store. Perhaps because they aren't quite fresh the shells peel so cleanly from the egg whites.

Anyway, I'll not go back to eating the other eggs again. These taste better and are probably better for us.

Bob
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  #14   ^
Old Wed, May-15-19, 20:41
Verbena Verbena is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 1,056
 
Plan: My own
Stats: 186/155/150 Female 5'4"
BF:
Progress: 86%
Location: SW PNW
Default

Bob, I had a similar experience with chickens (for eating) many years ago. Our budget was slowly expanding, and I had graduated to buying "somewhat better" chickens, rather than "really cheap". Had been buying these for a couple of years, but one day the store was out of them, but we were planning chicken for that evening's dinner so I bought a different inferior, brand. Even my husband noticed the difference in flavor (a man not renowned for his discerning taste). With the amount of rosemary I use with roast chicken you wouldn't think anyone would notice, but we both did. I have only moved up the quality scale with chicken, and most other things, since then, never back down. I would rather eat better quality, though perhaps less often.
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  #15   ^
Old Thu, May-16-19, 06:45
Bob-a-rama's Avatar
Bob-a-rama Bob-a-rama is offline
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Posts: 1,953
 
Plan: Keto (Atkins Induction)
Stats: 235/175/185 Male 5' 11"
BF:
Progress: 120%
Location: Florida
Default

Life is too short to eat mediocre food.

It's the reason we buy 100% grass-fed beef - it tastes better and as a bonus, it's better for us (or so 'they' say).

Bob
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