Mother Hen a new meaning...
I can't help myself, they are like potato chips. CHICKENS I am using any excuse to get more. First I use the my Mom wants them-- My friends need some.... So I got an incubator and the kids and I are hatching some! It will be education I say!! VERY exciting around here. I had to do some research on the process and came across some funny things. First of all the term broody... Broody is when you go in to check for eggs and the hen is hunkered down in the nest all fluffed up and when you reach in to get the egg she kinda growls and or pecks you. It is her way of saying "LOOK I am busy trying to hatch these eggs LEAVE me the heck alone" During this broody period (about 3 weeks) if you let her sit, she WILL NOT lay any eggs. She will just sit and take care of business. Apparently they get this Zen like trance look on their faces. She will turn each and every egg over 50 times a day (what dedication)! She might get up once a day to get water or eat but then will scurry back to her brood. I came across some funny videos on youtube....check these out.
I also wanted to cut and paste some facts about egg nutrition because I really think we all should be eating more eggs! It also would seem very important to grow your own so to speak as to get the biggest nutritional bang you could verses store bought....
Egg Nutrition
Eggs contain the highest quality protein you can buy. Egg
protein has the perfect mix of essential amino acids needed by humans
to build you own tissues. In addition, eggs have thirteen essential
vitamins and minerals
Eggs contain the highest quality food protein known. It is second only to mother's milk for human nutrition.
Egg yolk is one of the few foods that contain Vitamin D
Egg yolk is the major source of the egg's vitamins and minerals.
A large egg contains only 75 calories and 5 grams of fat.
Eggs have no vitamin C because the chick can produce it from food it eats.
I also wanted to cut and paste some facts about egg nutrition because I really think we all should be eating more eggs! It also would seem very important to grow your own so to speak as to get the biggest nutritional bang you could verses store bought....
Egg Nutrition
Here's another egg fact for you:
Eggs have no expiration date.
Yes! Really!
As long as an egg is kept at the proper temperatures, it does not 'go bad'.
It will slowly dehydrate the white through the pores of the shell, but it is still safe to eat (and tasty.)
All those dates stamped on your egg cartons are made up by the manufacturer. Which is why some say "Best By [date]" and some say "Sell by [date]".
I worked for a retail grocery chain and had to do all sorts of research on this topic when we re-designed the egg packaging. My boss wanted to know which phrase was better to use - after talking at length to food scientists, the Egg Board, and USDA scientists, we found that there is no required saying/date, because eggs don't expire. Of course it's better for the egg producers if you throw away perfectly good eggs because the date on the carton implies you *should*.
How's that for a surprising fact about eggs? = )
Reply to this