Thread: Most of us eat eggs, So here's the ?

Prejudice

The stores don't want to look racist?


No seriously, my wife told me the dif (she raised chickens when she younger), and my memory has gone down the crapper as of late, so I am stumped.

Brown eggs are generally laid by chickens that are free range and exposed to outside sunshine and air. White eggs are from production line chickens that never leave their cage and are raised under artificial lighting and a processed diet. At least that's how I understand it.

i like BOILERMAKER's responce. I have heard someting like that before.

Originally Posted by boilermaker

Brown eggs are generally laid by chickens that are free range and exposed to outside sunshine and air. White eggs are from production line chickens that never leave their cage and are raised under artificial lighting and a processed diet. At least that's how I understand it.

Oh, so your saying brown egg-laying chickens are homless?



























j/k.

Originally Posted by boilermaker

Brown eggs are generally laid by chickens that are free range and exposed to outside sunshine and air. White eggs are from production line chickens that never leave their cage and are raised under artificial lighting and a processed diet. At least that's how I understand it.

sounds logical

Originally Posted by dougnukem

Oh, so your saying brown egg-laying chickens are homless?



























j/k.

I think this is what he's saying...

http://www.themeatrix.com/

Originally Posted by BigDyl

I think this is what he's saying...

http://www.themeatrix.com/

That's pretty good, BigDyl.

Originally Posted by BigDyl

I think this is what he's saying...

http://www.themeatrix.com/

What's that? Our Websense won't let me open it.

There are fewer brown eggs, therefore they're more expensive.

I thought it was merely a difference in the breed of the chicken laying the egg?

It is the breed of the hen that determines the colour of the shell.... Usually (in really broad terms) - white hens lay white eggs, and brown/red/other colour hens lay tinted or brown eggs. It is nothing to do with what they are fed, where they are kept or what the nutritional value is...

The reason why there is a price difference is because:
1. Cost of the chooks - Generally, the larger breeds such as the New Hamphire and Rhode Island Red (and in australia, the Black Australorp) are the breeds that lay brown eggs... So to produce the same number of eggs as the white chooks they need more room, more food, more water etc etc. So it costs the producer more to produce the brown eggs.

2. consumer demand - generally speaking people like white eggs better (they are thought to be 'cleaner') and this greater demand means companies have to be more competitive and drops the price.

She's awesome.

the supply-side argument makes perfect sense...but i think that's the first time i've ever heard of greater demand causing lower prices

edit: but i guess that is because brown eggs are a niche market while white eggs are a mass market...so, a greater demand for white eggs leads to greater production of white eggs, and therefore more competition in the white-egg market, leading companies to price white eggs more competitively...is that how the idea goes?

You can buy free range eggs too though. They are better than caged chicken eggs.

Originally Posted by garethhe

the supply-side argument makes perfect sense...but i think that's the first time i've ever heard of greater demand causing lower prices

edit: but i guess that is because brown eggs are a niche market while white eggs are a mass market...so, a greater demand for white eggs leads to greater production of white eggs, and therefore more competition in the white-egg market, leading companies to price white eggs more competitively...is that how the idea goes?

The demand only makes the price higher if the supply is also low. There is a plentiful supply of eggs, so this breeds increased competition.

I stand corrected on my theory. Must be an old wives tale.

Originally Posted by garethhe

edit: but i guess that is because brown eggs are a niche market while white eggs are a mass market...so, a greater demand for white eggs leads to greater production of white eggs, and therefore more competition in the white-egg market, leading companies to price white eggs more competitively...is that how the idea goes?

Yes. You are correct.

Originally Posted by boilermaker

I stand corrected on my theory. Must be an old wives tale.

T'is a good theory - better than the 'nutrition' theory anyway...

Interestingly, you can alter the colour of the yolks/white by altering the food that the hens are given.

Things that are rich in xanthaphyls (sp??) - which is a compound found in some plants - will enrich the colour of the yolk and make it more orange (things like marigold flowers, alfalfa, corn etc... It is also found in paprika and farmers used to 'spike' the chook food with this in order to deepen the colour of the yolks as the colour of the yolk is one of the characteristics on which the egg is graded - like the shell thickness, the shell hardness, the consistency of the white etc etc)...

Ummm....

Anyway..... that was stupid fact number 2004432 from Emma...

Originally Posted by Emma-Leigh

T'is a good theory - better than the 'nutrition' theory anyway...

Are you saying that a free range chicken wont lay a more nutritional egg?

brown eggs are from "cage free" chickens and cost A LOT more. white eggs are from the slave chickens who were beaten to death!!

dead chickens lay the yummiest eggs

Once again, Emma is dead on. I get eggs from a farmer near my parent's place, so have seen the color differential and chicken colors first hand.

Diet also does effect the shell color a bit. This guy has white hens that lay white eggs with a slight green tint. Great for Easter.

Originally Posted by dougnukem

What's that? Our Websense won't let me open it.

You're telling me the military blacklists progressive affiliated websites. I mean jesus...

Originally Posted by BigDyl

You're telling me the military blacklists progressive affiliated websites. I mean jesus...

It lists it as an Advocacy Group.

Originally Posted by dougnukem

It lists it as an Advocacy Group.

Isn't everything? It's just a flash animation showing how factory farms aren't that great. Especially when it comes to what you're eating...

Originally Posted by PreMier

Are you saying that a free range chicken wont lay a more nutritional egg?

No I didn't say that... I was saying that brown eggs are not more nutritious than white eggs.


But I am also now going to say that free-range chooks will not necessarily lay eggs that have higher nutrient content (that is, vitamins, minerals, protein, fats etc).

Yes, free-range chooks will lay "I am a happy chook" eggs... But whether or not keeping them in these conditions will positively effects the nutrition of the egg is debatable...

Some free-range chooks are kept in very poor condition, especially when you consider that chooks are agoraphobic. They are predator cautious and are meant to be ground dwelling animals from scrubby environments like forests. Therefore, 'free-range' places that are keeping them in really large open spaces without proper shelter, is not too happy for them either... They get stressed out of their brains worrying about overhead risks.

Chooks are also meant to be in small flocks of less than 10ish, so once you combine them in numbers above about 50 (and some of the flocks they are kept in are in the hundreds) you start to get problems with cannibalism and anti-social behaviour..... They can't cope with 'all those birds' (they get overwhelmed by it all).

With free range hens it is also harder to ensure that the animals are getting all their required energy, vitamins and minerals. This is a real problem in layers - they are constantly producing eggs and it is a very taxing outlay for their tiny body's (All those good things in the egg and all the minerals in the shell have to be taken from the hens body - so it is equivalent to a female being pregnant - the egg takes a whole egg of energy and nutrients). Yes, they will have more exposure to 'green pick' (well, sometimes - depends on the conditions in which they are kept) and this can help to increase some nutrients and energy, but they are also walking around constantly, which 'drains their energy' too - and it makes it harder for them to keep their energy and health levels up - which can be reflected by the quality of the egg...

It is also harder to control exposure to environmental stresses (such as temperature) and diseases (which can be picked up from birds, the dirt etc etc)... So, because they have to cope with these, the egg quality can once again decrease.

So, as much as it pains me to say it, if you are going to judge an egg purely on the nutritional content then, due to the ability to HIGHLY control the environment of battery cage raised hens (eg: you can control the temperature, food, water, hours of light per day, humidity, exposure to pathogens etc) you are able to have great control over the nutritional content of the egg and it can have higher levels of certain nutrients.

With that said, I do believe that free range eggs are 100 x better. I don't touch caged chook eggs and I never will. This is mainly because keeping hens in those cages that are 45cm by 55cm is equal to locking a person in a toilet cubical for their existence. They are chronically stressed (proved by traits they develop such as feather picking, cannibalism, self-mutilation, and OCD behaviours). They develop crippling osteoporosis (due to their inactivity and the constant drain of calcium for the egg shells, their legs break purely from standing). Chooks also have a really strong drive to nest (they will forgo food and run through fire-hydrant jets to do so) so denying them this is completely un-ethical.

And yes - The chronic stress that the hens are placed under may also alter the 'goodness' of the egg (in regards to things that can not be directly measured, such as mineral or vitamin content)... Just like stress will 'darken' a meat when slaughtering an animal (this lowers the meat quality and effects the pH, colour, tenderness etc etc) I have no doubt that the stress of caging hens will also lower the quality of the egg.


If you want to get really good eggs then you need a good balance to allow them their 'five freedoms'. This means ensuring they are free of disease, free of stress, given enough food and water, given enough room to move around and given access to nesting areas so they can perform their natural behaviours (along with other things) - then keeping them in well protected small flocks (less than 10-12), in semi scrubby conditions, with access to green pick and area's to scratch, as well as access to nesting boxes, good feed and clean water is the best way to go (so, the 'back yard chook' is as close as you are going to get).

Unfortunately, it is not going to happen....

Well, looking at the profile of grass fed beef vs grain fed, there is a huge difference. I just find it hard to believe that a chicken that eats grass, bugs, seeds and whatever else would produce a less healthy egg than one in a box.