Egging It On

In the beginning of farm season we all think about the sun shine, gardening and of course eggs. Though eggs are usually a thought dedicated to chickens alone ducks, geese, turkeys, partridge and quail also provide many of the eggs at Arielle Acres. We have mostly heritage breeds and enjoy eggs almost all year long from at least one type of our feathered friends. The shape, color and size of an egg are dependent on the breed of the bird so if you want different types of eggs you will have to get different breeds of birds. The amount of eggs you will have from any single bird can depend on many factors such as breed, light, feed, water, etc. Your poultry should always have constant access to water, without it they will probably stop laying. They should also have a stress free environment and enough food. Contrary to popular belief poultry are not herbivores, they are actually omnivores just like most other birds. Chickens enjoy their worm delicacies just as much as blue birds and therefore should be allowed to free range. Our poultry mostly go out and graze though we do supplement with a corn and poultry mix during the colder months. If your chickens are not allowed outside you will also want to insure they have minerals, grit and a good quality hay to eat, lay on, etc... The color of the yolks depends on what your poultry are eating. To get orange yolks, which have a lot of flavor, let your chickens free range and/or offer corn as a supplement. Laying cycles depend on light. You can even have eggs during the winter months depending on how much supplemental light they receive and the breeds you choose. Where your poultry lay has the largest effect on the look and cleanliness of your eggs. Ensure your poultry have plenty of bedding to make their nests otherwise your eggs will become soiled. Chickens will lay in a nest box. A 12x12x12 inch box is a good nest box size for your average heritage breed chicken. Bantams can have smaller boxes. Geese, turkeys and ducks lay on the ground and build a mound to lay their eggs in. Geese and some ducks will cover their eggs after laying. Be cautious when collecting eggs. When disturbed chickens may peck you but will often continue to lay in the nest box. Ducks and geese however may not continue to lay in the nest if you push them off. Geese are also very territorial and will often times come after someone who has disturbed them while on their nest. If you have young kids supervise them and let them know that the poultry can be territorial. Only allow children to collect eggs from nests that do not have birds laying on them. It is also important to note that all type of eggs are edible turkey and goose egg omelets are the norm here and they are quite tasty as well. Yolk to egg white ratio is not always the same either. Smaller eggs tend to have larger yolks. Whenever I cook I use a scale to determine my measurements. Turkey and goose eggs are wonderful to use for recipes that call for egg white because they have a higher ratio of white to yolk. Chicken: Commercial: Chicken eggs are the most popular eggs in America. They are white and come nicely packaged in a carton at the store and are all the same size. This i due to the fact that most commercial chickens are a form of leghorn and therefore produce this widely known variety. Certain types of leghorns can also produce brown eggs which tends to be a bit lighter in color than that of heritage breeds. These are the most common type of brown eggs sold in the supermarket. Heritage: We have quite a couple different types of heritage breed chickens here and enjoy a wide array of colors and sizes. Eggs can come in White, Brown, Brown speckled and green. If you have mostly heritage breeds you will have mostly brown or brown speckled eggs. At Arielle Acres we actually have more green chicken eggs than white. Sizes: (we receive chicken eggs that are sometimes smaller than peewee from some of our bantam chickens) Peewee: Greater than 1.25oz Small: Greater than 1.5oz Medium: Greater than 1.75oz Large: Greater than 2oz Extra Large: Greater than 2.25oz Jumbo: Greater than 2.5oz Duck: Duck eggs are not the norm and you may think they look a little odd at first sight. They are oblong in shape and translucent looking, as though they are being candled. This is due to the texture of the egg being so smooth unlike that of a chicken egg. They come in different sizes and colors depending on the breed of duck they came from. Our most common colors are white and green. Duck eggs can vary greatly in size. The eggs we collect at Arielle Acres weigh about: 2.45oz-2.95oz Goose: Goose eggs are oblong and very large. Their shells have a rougher texture like that of a chicken egg. I only need one egg to make an omelet and normally I don't finish it because it is just too filling. Goose eggs are roughly the size of 2-3 chicken eggs. 4.45oz-5.85oz Turkey: Turkey eggs have an odd shape with a rounded bottom and pointed tip and rougher texture like that of a chicken egg. They have a larger ratio of egg white to yolk. Our most common eggs here are white egg with brown speckles eggs. 3oz-3.25oz Quail: These are tiny and have a strong shell. I suggest using them as hard boiled eggs as opposed to cracking them while raw. This is because the shells are strong and the membrane does not break easily. Depending on the type of quail you have you may have either white or brown eggs. We have bob whites which give us white eggs. Partridge: Partridge eggs are very easy to crack so be careful or they may not make it back to the house. They are a bit larger than a quail eggs.

#fruits