SDM - why are brown eggs more expensive?!!!

[sisyphe]

At the supermarket the brown eggs and white eggs are similar in price but the white eggs go on sale occasionally. The regular price is maybe $3.50. SDM carries the white ones and has more frequent sales $2.29 this week but it was $2.89 during redemption. I thinks it's a supply and bulk pricing thing that has the white go on sale. I'm sure we have more white hens for eggs in Canada, maybe due to the cost of feeding them or maybe due to consumer preference. We lived in Ireland for a year and all I saw were brown eggs and they even had feathers on them (still inspected as some had codes stamped on). I bought brown occasionally for a while when we returned.

Reminds me of South Africa, where I was very confused to find the eggs unrefrigerated at the grocery store. Apparently they don't wash the eggs so they don't require refrigeration, whereas our eggs are washed and need to be refrigerated because it removes a protective coating on the shell.

[newb]

Wow what a great thread !! I guess there is more to an egg than just yolk.

[RebeccaRYoung]

I only purchase free range or free run eggs. These are eggs that come from chickens that are not caged. I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, but I try to stay informed about where my meat comes from. I watch lot's of food network shows, and Jamie Oliver had a whole program about eggs. He made a point about the treatment of animals. Many of the chickens are put in two's into cages that are too small. The cages are stacked on top of each other, and when the animals go the bathroom, it falls on the ones below.

I just can't support the abuse of animals. Even though it's more expensive, I would rather purchase less meat/eggs/dairy and know that animals aren't being mistreated than purchase less expensive meat that comes from animals that are being harmed.

[luckbealady]

I only purchase free range or free run eggs. These are eggs that come from chickens that are not caged.

The only issue I have with "free range" is that you have to be careful about the farm where it comes from. My brother and sister-in-law lived across from a small farm that sold free range eggs. These free range chickens often wandered onto my brother's property and ate flowers, seeds, dog food, compost, and even dog poo. I kind of wonder about the diet of free range.

[petsrfun101]

Found this
"What determines whether an egg is white or brown? The breed of the chicken determines shell color of an egg—the white hens lay white eggs and the brown hens lay brown eggs. Brown chickens are usually larger and require more food to make an egg, which is why brown eggs cost more than white eggs."

http://www.eggsafety.org/consumers/c...aqs#STRUCTURE5

this is actually not always the case, while i can believe that the breed of the chicken determines the shell color, the color of the chicken does not. i worked on a chicken farm and we had white chickens that laid white eggs and white chickens that laid brown eggs. and another fun fact, believe it or not at least one breed of chicken lays green eggs! i had a chicken like this growing up and we would show people the green eggs and they would think we had dyed them but they truly came out of the chicken that way, no special feed or anything!

[dealsacc]

lol

[Insane]

I only purchase free range or free run eggs. These are eggs that come from chickens that are not caged. I'm not a vegetarian or vegan, but I try to stay informed about where my meat comes from. I watch lot's of food network shows, and Jamie Oliver had a whole program about eggs. He made a point about the treatment of animals. Many of the chickens are put in two's into cages that are too small. The cages are stacked on top of each other, and when the animals go the bathroom, it falls on the ones below.

I just can't support the abuse of animals. Even though it's more expensive, I would rather purchase less meat/eggs/dairy and know that animals aren't being mistreated than purchase less expensive meat that comes from animals that are being harmed.

The only issue I have with "free range" is that you have to be careful about the farm where it comes from. My brother and sister-in-law lived across from a small farm that sold free range eggs. These free range chickens often wandered onto my brother's property and ate flowers, seeds, dog food, compost, and even dog poo. I kind of wonder about the diet of free range.

A couple of months ago we switched to free range as well. Free range means they are allowed to roam free, not necessarily eat whatever. There is a difference between free range and free roam (or something like that), where they are pastured and eat grubs and such. Free range chickens can be kept in a barn just not in cages.

http://www.eggs.ca/cooking-with-eggs...ondering-about

I did some research and felt that free range were healthier (although some research said there was no difference). I just felt more comfortable feeding free range to our family-and it fit in with our beliefs more. I have noticed the yoke is a much deaper golden yellow, if that matters any.

[padfoot]

I did some research and felt that free range were healthier (although some research said there was no difference). I just felt more comfortable feeding free range to our family-and it fit in with our beliefs more. I have noticed the yoke is a much deaper golden yellow, if that matters any.

Does the deeper yellow add anymore flavor or scent to it?

[PammieD]

A couple of months ago we switched to free range as well. Free range means they are allowed to roam free, not necessarily eat whatever. There is a difference between free range and free roam (or something like that), where they are pastured and eat grubs and such. Free range chickens can be kept in a barn just not in cages.

http://www.eggs.ca/cooking-with-eggs...ondering-about

I did some research and felt that free range were healthier (although some research said there was no difference). I just felt more comfortable feeding free range to our family-and it fit in with our beliefs more. I have noticed the yoke is a much deaper golden yellow, if that matters any.

Very very good point.. of all things, these few posts have made me reconsider our egg purchases. I'm not a vegetarian etc, but this is something I'm going to switch in our household. Thanks for he info everyone!

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[Patty Smyth]

Thread reported

[anisa]

I always buy the PC omega eggs (white) but they were out of white eggs, and i bought brown ones about a month ago. i found that the brown ones all had one or two dark spots inside (blood?), and a couple had spots of bright red blood in them.

i also knew someone once who had been buying free range eggs, and kept getting eggs with blood spots in them.

is this a common occurance with these types of eggs? it kind of turned me off

[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!

[Insane]

Thread reported

Why?

[FallenPixels]

Why?

It was cleaned up
But reporting is better than replying and making me clean up more stuff, Patty you know how I hate cleaning

[pippinelkhound]

I remember being told that blood in the yolk is due to the egg being fertilized. They are supposed to be screened out of supermarket eggs.