Designer eggs

Fortunately, I have a very large house—built about 70 years ago—with an impressive garden and a 10-by-30-meter plot of land. I have a lawn and am thinking about raising chickens (no more than six hens and a rooster) to get fresh eggs. I remember a news story from the 80s about how, in Israel, they managed to produce cholesterol-free eggs by feeding chickens fish meal; that’s where the term "designer eggs" came from. In industrial farming, hens are kept in cages where they can't move—doing nothing but eating and laying eggs—and their diet consists of corn and soy. I envision something different: a free-roaming hen that eats fish and flaxseeds should produce a more nutritious egg, one higher in omega-3s. What does a hen need to eat to produce a high-quality egg? Feeding them that way would certainly cost more than just using corn and soy, but I think it’s worth it when you eat the egg. Anyway, the idea has been on my mind. I don't think municipal regulations allow for keeping chickens, but six hens don't produce as much waste as a Rottweiler, and they actually fertilize the soil. Another idea I have is to start a vegetable garden for fresh produce.

Edited by mods to conform with forum rules.

Outlier said:

We kept chickens, and I've worked on two free-range poultry farms. You don't need a rooster, and the neighbours will thank goodness if you don't have one. Feeding fish meal can lead to 'fishy' tasting eggs. Chickens are great fun as pets, and I'm sure you will ejoy yours. If you are in UK you wil need a licence from DEFRA to keep them.

Click to expand...

I live in Argentina, where municipal regulations are still quite flexible. It is true that the rooster crows at dawn and might bother some neighbors; you can keep hens with a rooster, though the downside is that in summer—when temperatures here hit 40 degrees Celsius—fertilized eggs can start developing even without the hen sitting on them. However, I don't know if hens are any happier with or without a rooster. It gives me a sense of peace to watch them foraging. It is true that if you feed them fish meal, the eggs will taste like fish, and if you feed them a lot of soy, the eggs will taste like soy. Ideally, they should have a varied diet.

lovinglife said:

The area where I live it’s a town but on the edge of the countryside, we have a lot of farms & a lot of households keep their own chickens also a few cockerels which make for noisy mornings. All the shops sell the local eggs & some people have little boxes outside their house where you can buy the eggs. The chickens roam free so are truly free range - some have ducks too but I’m not keen on duck eggs.

Although you can get lower cholesterol eggs there will be always some cholesterol in the yolk but it’s been debunked quite a few times that the cholesterol in eggs is bad for you.

Eggs and cholesterol

Dietitian Victoria Taylor, explains that its been a while since eggs were considered a cause of high cholesterol and the best ways to have a healthy diet

www.bhf.org.uk

Click to expand...

Lovinglife, It’s not just about cholesterol—that’s the least of my concerns; I’m talking about nourishing the hen so she produces a more nutritious egg.

I'm saving this to read another day because tonight is Saturday Night Fever.

M.A.R. said:

I'm saving this to read another day because tonight is Saturday Night Fever.

The Golden Egg: Nutritional Value, Bioactivities, and Emerging Benefits for Human Health - PMC

Egg is an encapsulated source of macro and micronutrients that meet all requirements to support embryonic development until hatching. The perfect balance and diversity in its nutrients along with its high digestibility and its affordable price has ...

pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Click to expand...

Well, I read the entire scientific report, I rescued the word "nutaceutical." Since I didn't know it, I looked it up in the Spanish dictionary: adj. Med. Said of a food product: That combines nutritional and other beneficial properties for health.

A nutraceutical egg is a regular egg, but "enhanced" by what the hen ate. It's not a pill supplement. It's food that, in addition to nourishing you, helps prevent or support certain health issues: heart health, inflammation, antioxidants, etc.

Jaylee said:

There is that old adage. “You are what you eat?”

Personally I’d be researching the natural general diet of the average chicken.. (if keeping them.)

An animal’s welfare should come before whatever it produces for further up the food chain consumption. .

Click to expand...

Hi Jaylee, I think your reflection is very important, greetings!