>looked a little closer and found that one brand (Eggland's Best) makes some
>rather extraordinary claims:
>
>* 190 mg of cholesterol compared to 215 mg in an ordinary egg
>* 25 percent less saturated fat than an ordinary egg
>* Omega 3 that is 3 times the amount in an ordinary egg
>* 6 times more vitamin E than an ordinary egg
>* 150% more Iodine than an ordinary egg
>
>Eggland's Best eggs have been granted a U.S. Patent #5,246,717: "Eggs
>Compatible with a Cholesterol Reducing Diet and Method of Producing the
>Same".


I can't BELIEVE they can patent a diet!! Any fool can develop a diet. (Many
have, and don't we know it!)  The research it came from was published.

I have a copy of the original research article on which the development of
all this was based. I am going to use it to feed my own laying flock of rare
breed hens that lay many colors of eggs.

Basically, the researchers fed brown flax seed and fish oils to chickens in
varying amounts and measured the nutritional changes in the resulting eggs.
Fish oil is tricky, because it can spoil easily and its flavor can come thru
in the eggs (eewww!!!), so I don't plan to use it, BUT,  I am actively
seeking a reasonably-priced supply of brown flax seed. (The oil in flax seed
is not too stable and it spoils easily; never buy ground flax seed!!! Keep
it whole and frozen, and take out only as much as you need! The chickens
don't need it ground; they will get it whole, mixed with their ration.)

If 8-10% of what my chickens eat is brown flax seed, then my eggs can equal
OR BETTER what Eggland sells. Because, the legal definition of free range
requires ONE square foot of space per bird (I know I have large and heavy
breeds, but geez, MY girls are so big they couldn't take a step and still
stay inside a square foot of space!!!) and they provide not a square inch
more than the law requires. So any presumed benefits of exercise and fresh
air in commercially produced eggs are nebulous and more a marketing gimmick
than reality.

Whereas my girls (currently 14 adults, with a couple dozen week-olds in the
brooder in the spare bedroom) are getting a 30x70 wire-topped yard in a
couple more weeks, plus their 20x20 house with 30 feet of roosting poles.
(And I won't keep ALL these chicks, as a few will be male and will be eaten
or given to other breeders.)  So mine will have room for genuine exercise in
addition to their fresh air. The chicken yard is going in beside the garden
because les girls eat fresh goodies from the garden nearly every day of the
year. The garden is organic, of course. And I am planting the seeds of
greens that are nutritious for poultry in the area of the chicken yard, so
they can graze.

OBTW, my buddy the professional poultryman (raises organic poultry and sells
it at the state farmers market as well as to gourmet restaurants nearby, and
sells me the organic high protein feed I give the girls) says the addition
of flax seed and/or fish oils to the chickens' diet basically alters the
nutrients the chick needs from the egg in order to develop.  So, he said
don't waste time or any eggs trying to hatch eggs laid by girls that have
been on this diet. If I want to breed them, they need to be off flax seed
for at least 3-4 weeks before they are bred or there will not be enough
cholesterol in the eggs to nourish the development of chicks. Breeders need
a high cholesterol diet!

So, this is a non-chemical, non-genetic way of tailoring eggs as a HUMAN
food by making them different than what a baby chick needs. I have little
interest in breeding except for my super-rare ones, the girls are the breeds
I selected after a lot of research, to lay naturally-colored rainbow eggs.
So, they will probably all be on the flax seed diet.

cheers,    laurie    Colorsplash Farm, organic eggs from rare and lovely
HAPPY hens