Originally Posted by
sweetproserpina
As a keeper of pet chickens (although currently none right now :) there is absolutely no difference between a white and brown egg nutritionally. The colour of the egg is determined by the chickens ear colour! So that's why some breeds of seemingly white chickens lay brown eggs, or blue or green, speckled, and coffee coloured etc. The size of the egg has to do with the size of the chicken (bantam eggs are much smaller than regular size chicken eggs), and how old the chicken is. When my chickens start laying first the eggs are small, than they get huge (and occasionally produce double yolkers etc.) and than they taper off and stay relatively constant in size.
Most chickens lay about an egg a day, some less often and in winter if there is no artificial light, they may stop laying altogether (although my chickens often don't get the memo and keep right on laying..) The first year of egg laying is the most productive and most commercially raised chickens will only be kept a year or so, after that they are sold for animal food etc.
The colour of the egg yolk depends on what the chicken eats. More a more corn-based feed = a yellower yolk. Those lovely orange-y yolks from pastured chickens are from all the greens, bugs, worms etc. that they get to eat, yum! Free-range and free-run eggs often just mean no cages; they are still kept indoors in big chicken barns. Sometimes they have access to outside through a small door, but it depends on the producer.
And, Omega-3 eggs- the chickens are fed flax seeds :)
And that is probably more than you wanted to know about chickens!
