Are farm fresh eggs really better?

I have never had farm fresh eggs until we got our own chickens. A few weeks ago a few of our birds started laying eggs.

Our first egg

I pretended to be excited, but to be honest, I was nervous.

Have you seen the merchandise with exclamations of “my pets poops my breakfast.” This is the thought I had when we got our eggs.

Thanks Fuzzy for breakfast!

The other crazy thing I discovered was you didn’t have to refrigerate the eggs. What kind of sorcery was this! It went against everything I thought I knew about food.

But according to my backyard chicken book (and my husband because he does a lot of research while I just like to wing it) its fine to keep the eggs on your counter due to the bloom, which is a natural protective layer that coats the egg. It seals the pores to reduce moisture loss and prevents the development of bacteria. So when we’re ready to eat the eggs we clean them by rinsing them off and they are good to use.

Artsy egg shot

Real life egg shot...Getting ready to eat our eggs for the first time.

I talked to my friend Erin Wingfield about her egg experience. This longtime chicken lover has a lot more knowledge than me about farm fresh eggs and why you should try them.

Erin Wingfield, chicken enthusiast and great dresser!

“There really isn’t a comparison between farm fresh eggs and store bought eggs. Farm fresh have a much richer taste,” said Erin. “Not only that, they have way more nutrients in them because pasture raised chickens have healthier diets.”

We like to feed our birds any vegetable and fruit scraps, as well as things like sunflower seeds.

She explained eggs with light orange yolks most likely come from chickens without as much access to the outdoors (or even no access at all). These chickens are caged indoors under artificial lighting, or roam around a dimly-lit or darkened barn with no windows.

A deep orange yolk means the egg is from pasture-raised hens. This color egg yolk indicates a well-balanced and healthy chicken diet and an egg with excellent nutritional value. And while both farm fresh and store bought eggs have cholesterol, backyard eggs contain lower amounts. 

Internet photo I found because I wan't smart enough to create a visual for you.

“Backyard chickens aren’t for everyone, but they are really fun if you decide to get some,” said Erin. “They have their own personalities and are so funny to watch. Just make sure to do your research – chickens eat and poop a lot.”

And like my children, Erin’s kids like to play with the birds, including her youngest daughter Everly.

Everly hanging out with the chickens. 

Our birds are well loved. 

They like a good snuggle, but they are fast. 

You get a bird, and you get a bird.

I told my dad to catch a bird, and he did it.

Play time with the chickens.

If interested in trying some farm fresh eggs, please let me know. I can give you a few to try now. And in the spring Madi and Abby will be the “Chicky Sisters” and sell eggs.

Here we are dreaming about selling eggs. Just kidding. Just a shout out to Emily Bartley photography. She always makes the farm look amazing!

Bees, Bunnies, Battlestar Galactica

If you’re an Office fan you’ll get my headline… In one episode Jim copies Dwight’s mannerisms and says the phrase "Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica.” And it’s hilarious. If you’re not an Office fan, well I am not sure we can be friends.

We're busy, but luckily we have this super smart pig to help us with our chores. I'm totally kidding, but he's so cute.

The last few months have been really busy. The garden and chicken coop were really time 

consuming. 

But it was well worth it. We ate so many fresh veggies and canned some soup and salsa.

So much produce!

Luckily he knows what to do!

Peeled tomatoes

Soup

They all sealed. Whew!

The chickies are living the dream. Vegetable scraps and sunflower seeds galore. Hopefully, we’ll get some eggs in return soon.

We want eggs!

On the flip side we had a bee problem. Actually I think they were wasps. (I’m not changing my headline so picture crazy waspy bees with black bodies and mean eyes.) Michael was trimming some trees down by the mailbox and all of a sudden he was getting attacked by aggressive stinging insects.

Look at that ankle!

We got spray, but it wasn’t good enough. Michael wanted to purchase a blow torch. But we worked together to get the nest down. I was the driver, Michael had a hoe. I drove passed the nest slowly and he swung at it. It was petrifying. I felt like we were part of the mafia. But we got them, and walking down the driveway is safe again.

I have a video of this drive by, but I'm not techy enough to embed. 

The other big news is we gave the bunnies away. In a month, I realized I was not a bunny person. But the people who rehomed the bunnies LOVE bunnies. They already have plans for a better set up than we had. I am very happy for them. They were so cute, but a lot more time consuming than I realized. I’ve learned to do a little research before I fall in love with fluffy animals. Goodbye Salt and Pepa. You gave us a few laughs, but mostly just a lot of poop.

My back porch looks clean again. I’m ready to decorate it for fall. I planted some mums, and we found a surprise pumpkin on the property. I’ll slowly start getting some fodder and scarecrows out. Maybe when it’s not 95 degrees.

Trying to decide if we should plant a fall/winter garden…maybe with some beets. Ha!

Why does everything take longer than we think?

When I use to work in the corporate world, requests would pop up on email asking me to do a flier “real quick.” What clients don’t realize is there is no such thing as real quick because of other projects in the works.

And as much as those requests would make my eyes roll, I’m in the habit of doing it to myself every day. I can do this chore real quick or make those muffins real quick, and it always puts me behind. That’s when I get stressed.

I can do it real quick! Insert eye roll. I always get behind!

We’ve learned on the farm, nothing happens quickly.

Remember we started the chicken coop in February. Although it’s fully functional now, it’s still not 100% done. Michael has used all his free time and worked relentlessly, but things happen – rain, more materials are needed, etc.

It's taken months!

Long hours

But the chickens have a coop!

We just need to paint it to match the outbuilding. We used a tin silver roof to match. 

Ta da!

The chickens come and go as they please.

They are very sweet.

And they make us laugh!

The chickens love all the room. They come and go as they please. And Michael built the coop like Fort Knox… we call it Fort Cluck. Although, Snoop Hoggy Hog decided he has a taste for chicken food and tried to root his way in. Not on our watch buddy. Michael chased him away and ended up ripping his shirt in the orchard. I am trying a different approach. We’ll see what way works better.

Snoop is a sneaky pig!

Another project that requires daily maintenance is the garden. Now, I don’t give it attention every day, but I was weeding it twice a week. Those weeds taunt me and grow faster and higher all the time. 

This was a few weeks ago. This random patch is where we planted the pumpkins a few days ago. A late start but hopefully we get a few.

Here is the garden now. 

I have one sunflower growing. 

At least we’re finally seeing a harvest. I am making all sorts of dishes out of zucchini and squash. But aren’t they really just vehicles for us to eat more parmesan cheese.

The side gardens need weeding once a week. 

All the berries are ripening. Enough for us and the birds!

Harvest!

We like fried green tomatoes.

This is our first year planting okra.

I'm adding these to every dish I make.

Yum!

It’s all worth it though. We enjoy getting out there and working. It sounds cliché but working with your hands does give you a level of satisfaction. I always think I’m so dirty and tired, I deserve an iced coffee or more cheesy zucchini.

So as I head into the school year, I do want to keep in mind my time. When I try to do too much I stress. When I mentally say, I can do it real quick. I want to pause and see if I really have time.

Love spending time with these girls...

and on this land.