Question on Free range eggs , FoodFreak , Mountaindog , anybody

[Gunsmith]

My parents raise chickens for eggs and eating and thats where I get all my eggs from , they are mostly free ranging birds that get fed very little feed , they live off of what they find as far as bugs and seeds , they do cast a little cracked corn each day for them in the evening when they are put back in the pen.
For the last year or so I father has been feeding them the remains of the fish he catches , after he cleans them he dumps the out on the back side of his property and the chickens have found it and now they follow him out each time he cleans fish and they eat their fill and move along. I have seen chickens feed around dead animals , I suspected that it was to eat the bugs that gathered to eat the carcas but these chicken are actualy picking the meat from the bones , very effeceintly i might add.

I know that chickens are canabalistic and will eat just about anything they can find , what I'm wondering is that would the added meat in their diet have any adverse effect on their eggs , it seems that their egg production has increased since they started eating the fish.

I'm just wondering if their eggs have a higher or lower quality due to their diet , anybody have any insite to this ?

 

[bigguns078]

"But, strictly vegetarian-fed chickens are potentially undernourished. An all-vegetarian diet is not natural for them ~ they need animal protein. The ideal is for a chicken to be free to roam grasslands that are not denuded by too many animals in one place, finding myriad bugs and eating lots of wild plants. If supplemented with grains, and especially with fish meal, these chickens will be the healthiest around, and live and lay eggs for many, many years."

Taken from this article...

from the farm: Nutrients of Grass-Fed Chickens

 

[Gunsmith]

Well I know that these birds are very healthy as when we butcher one they are alot leaner than store bought chicken and tasete WAY better. Their eggs are a little smaller than the Grade A large eggs you get from the store but their taste is also a little differant.

Chickens are nasty little fuckers , they will eat anything even kill a weak chicken and eat it.

well i guess I'll keep rocking along with the home grown eggs , hell can't beat the price either. I was just wondering if i was benifiting or being held back by eating the free range eggs from chickens that are eating alot of meat

 

[mountaindog1]

"But, strictly vegetarian-fed chickens are potentially undernourished. An all-vegetarian diet is not natural for them ~ they need animal protein. The ideal is for a chicken to be free to roam grasslands that are not denuded by too many animals in one place, finding myriad bugs and eating lots of wild plants. If supplemented with grains, and especially with fish meal, these chickens will be the healthiest around, and live and lay eggs for many, many years."

Taken from this article...

from the farm: Nutrients of Grass-Fed Chickens

Nothing more to add - Bigguns hit the nail right on the head.

JM

 

[Gunsmith]

Awsome , thanks for that link.

Mountaindog1 , whats your thoughs on duck eggs.. I know that they have a bit more fat in them but is that fat a bad fat or basicaly the same as the chickens , the ducks are pretty much wild but nest in special boxes we have beuilt to collect the eggs. My mom generaly sell them but she does cook with them a good bit kind of a seceret ingrediant to alot of her baking , the richness of the duck egg just does somthing special to home baked goods

 

[mountaindog1]

Awsome , thanks for that link.

Mountaindog1 , whats your thoughs on duck eggs.. I know that they have a bit more fat in them but is that fat a bad fat or basicaly the same as the chickens , the ducks are pretty much wild but nest in special boxes we have beuilt to collect the eggs. My mom generaly sell them but she does cook with them a good bit kind of a seceret ingrediant to alot of her baking , the richness of the duck egg just does somthing special to home baked goods

Duck eggs are fine. A little higher in monosaturated fat and cholesterol..neither of which is bad..They are also higher in Vitamin A also, which as you know is one the fat soluble vitamins that really drive results..

JM