Saturday, January 26, 2013

Thursday, January 17, 2013

Egg-traordinary Facts

Eggs from Chicken Women's Girls          Photo credit: Shobe Biz Communications


Crack open a fresh-from-the-farm egg and what's the first reaction? The yolk is orange. Orange yolks mean that the eggs are higher in carotenoids, which usually means the egg has higher amounts of Vitamin A and Omega-3. 

The Stir  at CafeMom.com has twelve surprise facts about eggs. Some of their other fun facts include:

1.  Vitamin D is all in the yolk of an egg.

2.  Those yucky little blood spots in the eggs (that we all try to avoid because it grosses us out) are when a blood vessel ruptures when the egg forms. They are not from fertilization.

3.  The freshest eggs sometimes have cloudy whites.

4.  A bad egg floats. My neighbor told me this one. Just think if all the human "bad eggs" floated??

5.  An egg takes 24-26 hours to form and the large end comes out first (I guess we can liken it to the head of baby). The average hen lays 250-270 eggs a year (ouch!). 

6.  To clean up egg off of the floor? Sprinkle salt on it.

Read the article for more amazing facts.

Here are some past Chicken Women posts that relate to eggs:

Cracking the Shell & Exposing the Heart - what makes hard-boiled eggs easy to peel & much more

Eggs are Excellent for Runners - it's true. They are.

All the Eggs in One Basket - A story about NOT putting all of your eggs in one basket...or maybe it is putting them in one basket, a basket at a time.

The Eggshell Sculptor - extraordinary eggshell art for the nimble of hand.



Sunday, January 13, 2013

A Hatching Chick


There's nothing like watching a chicken being born. Here's a Rhode Island Red coming out of its shell. As the video reminds us, do not attempt to help a hatching chicken because interference usually results in the death of a chicken.

If you order your chicks through a feed store or hatchery, it's time to place your orders for new chicks. You don't have to order "your average bears." There are some really unusual chickens out there. I absolutely love some of my unusual breeds and the eggs they lay.

Greenfire Farms in Midway, Florida specializes in selling unusual breeds. They are priced $19 to $999 ($999 for a Bielefelder chick). Imagine, $999 for one chick. Chicks at local hatcheries and feed stores are usually much less, around $3 or so per chick.


"Some people talk to animals. Not many listen, though. That's the problem." - A. A. Milne, Winnie the Pooh.