Gathering Eggs

One of Russ' chores each afternoon is to gather the eggs.  We kind of have the Blue Bell philosophy with eggs.  We eat all we can and sell the rest.  Egg gathering is sort of challenging as you have to look in all the places that a hen might decide to lay.  They are very creative in their laying spots.  Some on top of the hay bales...

Some are in a separate nest that we found...

Some are in some milk crates that we use as nesting boxes.  This girl wants to keep setting, so Russ has to remove her from the nest to get her egg.

After Russ collects all the eggs in the barn, he opens the feed room, grabs some rice and feeds the chickens.  If you look closely you can see Blackberry, the calf, being nosy.  Shortly after this picture was taken, Blackberry hit the wire egg basket with her head and broke 7 eggs.  Well, if you're gonna make an omelet, you gotta break a few eggs.

Now we move out to the pasture.  We have two chicken tractors that the girls roost in at night.  The tractors are cages on wheels.  We move the tractors each night so that the chicken poop fertilizes the pasture.  If they roosted in the same spot, their poop would kill the grass.  This way the "fertilizer" is broadcast each day to a different place in the pasture, encouraging fresh growth of green grass that the cows can enjoy.

The tractor on the right is the "Ford Eggsplorer."  It has 6 nesting boxes as well and sometimes they'll lay here.  We lift the roof that has hinges and gather any eggs and then we push the tractors one length forward.

Once we've gathered all the eggs, we inspect them and do a quick wash job on any that might be dirty.  We really try NOT to wash them as the hens leave a "bloom" on the eggs which keep bacteria out of the porous egg.  Unwashed eggs have a longer shelf life than washed ones.  Heres a picture of some of the eggs we gathered minus the seven that Blackberry broke.

One of the best things about farm fresh eggs from pastured poultry is the taste.  They have a rich taste and the yolks are darker than the store bought eggs.  This is due to a diet that consists of things that birds are supposed to be eating - like bugs, worms, and grass. An added bonus aside from the taste is the health benefit.  Pastured eggs are indeed more healthy for you.  They are loaded with omega 3 fat, vitamins E, A and D.   

Another interesting tidbit about eggs: the only difference between a brown egg and a white one, or a blue or green one, for that matter, is the color of the shell which is a reflection of the breed of the hen.  To this point, none of our hens have laid golden eggs.  We eagerly await that hen to begin laying!