Few things are as simple and perceived as uniform as the egg. A shell, an opaque white, a yellow yolk - we all have an image of what the perfect egg should look like. Big egg producers use selective breeding to produce hens that lay eggs with a consistent color and size to meet market standards. In my flock, I have some hens who were given to me because their egg color was not ideal and they were searching for something more blue, round, or speckled. Egg producers maintain controlled environments for lighting, temperature, nutrition, and the age of the birds. Automated systems wash, inspect, and sort the eggs, so when you open a carton, you see 12 identical eggs.
In past blogs, I’ve discussed how the egg industry is held accountable to basic standards of care and husbandry. However, to keep prices fair for consumers, the well-being of the birds isn’t always the highest priority. If you’ve ever eaten a chicken egg still warm from the nest box, you know the difference in taste and likely understand that the bird who laid it is content and healthy.
(quick note: most chickens couldn't care less if you take their eggs. some people claim that taking eggs from a chicken is almost abuse, as you are taking babies. most chickens bred today do not go broody, as in they do not have the urge to make a nest or raise young. some chickens do still have that urge, which will only go into true action if you let them sit on a clutch of eggs for a couple of days. however, many hens even at this stage are playing house- chicken forums are rife with owners terrified about a clutch of eggs abandoned at 14 days, or a hen that starts harassing the newly hatched chicks)
About five years ago, new neighbors brought me a huge tub of overwintered beets and beet greens. My birds were thrilled to have something so nutritious after the winter. Unfortunately, about 2 weeks later my customers were calling in a panic. It seems the egg yolks were....bleeding. The first thought was that they were fertile and an embryo had been developing. Have you seen this Portlandia skit?
Questions and concerns I receive are generally about the consistency or color of the egg whites. I don’t have a controlled environment except for clean water and security. Food changes, temperatures vary, and some of my hens are older than five and still laying. This year, I noticed more yellow in the whites of some eggs, especially from my newer Easter Eggers. This can be disconcerting if you’re not used to backyard eggs, especially if the shell is blue—the yellow tint pops more. The likely reason is that I can’t sell enough duck eggs early in the season, so I cook and feed them back to the birds. Eggs contain riboflavin, which produces a yellow or greenish tint.
I was speaking to a Vibe of Portland art teacher who leads a Natural Dye camp, and green pigments create yellow dye. To make up for a lack of fresh greens from the months of November-February, I ask neighbors to give me their pulled weeds, and I will walk around the neighborhood with a big bag pulling up dandelions, broadleaf plantain, chickweed and bedstraw. From March through June I offer up a big feed bag sized of weeds as often as I can, and I get rewarded with yellow eggs. Here is a brief overview of feeding weeds to chickens from the wonderful community forum Backyard Chickens.
Egg whites can have different consistencies primarily due to two things: age and temp. The age of the chicken, or how long the egg has been sitting. The older the thinner (why can't this be the same for us....... anyway..), the warmer the thinner. Early eggs, especially with duck eggs, laid when night temps hover just above freezing, can be thick and blobby. Not attractive, and not inedible.
Lastly- fertile eggs. I have boy ducks (drakes) that I have raised, so I have fertile duck eggs generally from April through July. Sometimes I forget to pick them all up, or I miss a clutch, and when I shine a light into the egg I see cell division. These eggs are not unsafe to eat, it's just.....awkward. Some cultures eat eggs that have an almost developed bird inside, look up balut. I've definitely eaten my share of just-divided egg yolks. If you are buying eggs from someone who has boy birds, and you get an egg with a disk on the yolk, no worries, it's going to taste just as good, I promise.
Please enjoy this photo gallery of eggs that all went into either a super cheesy Swiss Chard frittata, or a set of fried eggs I had for lunch.
This is a fertilized duck egg. You can see it on the right side of the yolk, where it has started to separate a little bit. The germinating disk you can see on the 3rd photo right of center. Because the white is thicker surrounding the yolk, when it cooks the white spreads out thin. But it made for some nice crispy edges. Sprinkled with paprika and seasoned salt.
These chicken eggs all have a yellow tint to the whites. The first egg has a slight green tint. The last two eggs are basic store-bought, but advertised with extra Omega 3's.
Here you can see how the yellow pigment disappears in the final product.
These are all eggs past their ideal for selling. The first is a chicken egg from a hen who can lay thin egg shells. The second two are fertile duck eggs maybe on day 2. The 4th egg had started to develop but was likely put in the fridge so development stopped. All of these eggs went into a frittata, along with the rest of the batch of eggs that didn't pass muster to sell, but still completely edible and delicious.
None of these eggs show signs of spoilage, such as an off or bad smell, a floating egg in water, the yolk seeming to smear into the white (in the 4th photo above there is still clear separating of yolk with white, nor were there any cracks in the shell. A crack in the shell, even hairline, can invite bacteria into the egg.
My rule is, if there is any doubt, throw it out. I've had severe food poisoning twice, so I will not mess around. Cook your eggs thoroughly, life is too short for salmonella. Hopefully you've found this informative and more appreciative of the wide range of looks a perfectly edible backyard egg can have.
Happy Egg Eating!
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