Description
All of our eggs are from pastured hens that are moved regularly so that they have fresh grass. They also have free access to a high-quality, non-GMO feed to supplement their diet, as well as free access to grit and oyster shells. We provide our hens with insoluble grit so that they can grind down their food in order for proper digestion to occur as chickens do not have teeth with which to chew. They also need the oyster shells to help replace the calcium that is lost during the egg-laying process.
In 2007 Mother Earth News, a strong advocate of better farming practices ran the most thorough nutritional comparison of pasture-raised and factory eggs that we know of. The study involved 14 flocks across the United States whose eggs were tested by an accredited Portland, Oregon laboratory.
They found that the benefits of pasture-raised eggs include:
- 1⁄3 less cholesterol
- 1⁄4 less saturated fat
- 2⁄3 more vitamin A
- 2 times more omega-3 fatty acids
- 3 times more vitamin E
- 7 times more beta carotene
- 4 to 6 times as much vitamin D
In addition to the Mother Earth News research findings, there have been a number of other studies showing that pasture-raised eggs are healthier than those produced by confinement-raised hens. Findings include the following:
- Pasture-raised eggs contain 70% more vitamin B12 and 50% more folic acid (British Journal of Nutrition, 1974).
- Pasture-raised eggs are higher in vitamin E and omega-3s than those obtained from battery-cage hens (Animal Feed Science and Technology, 1998).
- Pasture-raised eggs are 10% lower in fat, 34% lower in cholesterol, contain 40% more vitamin A, and are 4 times higher in omega-3s than standard U.S. battery-cage eggs, and pasture-raised chicken meat has 21% less fat, 30% less saturated fat, and 50% more vitamin A than that of caged chickens (Gorski, Pennsylvania State University, 1999).
- Pasture-raised eggs have three times more omega-3s and are 220% higher in vitamin E and 62% higher in vitamin A than eggs obtained from battery cage hens (Karsten, Pennsylvania State University, 2003).
All of this leads us to believe that we are better nourishing our bodies by choosing to eat eggs from pastured hens who happily free range and peck, scratch and dig, as well as munch on greens of their choosing all day long. We have been amazed at the difference between commercially available eggs and the eggs produced by our hens, and want to offer that opportunity to you as well by making our eggs available for sale.
