# Let's Discuss Eggs!



## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

Okay, I have egg questions for all you egg experts and I need your opinions. So far, the boys have just been eating their eggs cracked into their pans and I've been throwing away the shells. But, I was going to let them start having the shells. 

1. Do you wash the eggs before you let them have the shells? Isn't the outside where all the contamination is suppose to be on eggs? Do the chicken manufacturers wash them at the 'factory' before they put them in the carton?

2. Do the dogs get any nutrients from the shells if they are not crushed? I have always heard they can only absorb the calcium if you grind the shells. 

3. Is there a benefit to getting the free-range organic eggs over ordinary cheap eggs? We do not have our own chickens yet but we actually have a neighbor down the road who has started selling his own eggs. I have no idea what he charges yet. All I know is that when I take a walk, I can hear his rooster crowing so they must be fertilized eggs. Would these be more nutritious for the boys?


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## pogo (Aug 28, 2011)

I just give the boys the egg whole without cracking it, i've also never washed them either.


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## Sprocket (Oct 4, 2011)

chowder said:


> Okay, I have egg questions for all you egg experts and I need your opinions. So far, the boys have just been eating their eggs cracked into their pans and I've been throwing away the shells. But, I was going to let them start having the shells.
> 
> 1. Do you wash the eggs before you let them have the shells? Isn't the outside where all the contamination is suppose to be on eggs? Do the chicken manufacturers wash them at the 'factory' before they put them in the carton?
> *No I don't wash them, I don't know if the manufacture washes them*
> ...


*The fresher and more organic the better :smile:*


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

We are getting chickens in the next two weeks so our family and puppers will be getting organic, free range eggs! So will Re. Mine like all eggs but the organic or more natural taste richer and have a nicer texture. Mine will eat most of the shell of grocery store eggs but they will fight over my neighbors eggs and shells. Must be something different


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I want the eggs I feed my dog to come from chickens eating grasshoppers


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## Sheltielover25 (Jan 18, 2011)

chowder said:


> 3. Is there a benefit to getting the free-range organic eggs over ordinary cheap eggs? We do not have our own chickens yet but we actually have a neighbor down the road who has started selling his own eggs. I have no idea what he charges yet. All I know is that when I take a walk, I can hear his rooster crowing so they must be fertilized eggs. Would these be more nutritious for the boys?


Yes, there's a huge advantage. Eggs in the store come from chickens who have lived 1,000 to a pin, had their beaks cut off, have sores, and a lot of the times are genetically modified. I think eggs are one of the most important things to get from an individual. if you can't, don't bother with them.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

If you can get eggs from your neighbor and he free ranges his chickens (they get to eat bugs and such) those eggs will be better nutritionally. I notice that grocery store eggs' yolks are paler and runnier than fresh, free range chicken eggs. 

Grocery store eggs are NOT fresh. 






What she basically says is, when you look at a carton of eggs, the number you see is the number of the day the eggs were put in the carton. That does not mean it was the day the egg was laid. So, lets say a chicken lays an egg at a factory. The day it gets boxed is August 1. They then have an expiration date of 45 days. 45 DAYS! And, the day they are boxed does not mean it was the day it was packaged so it could be even older!

This is why I want my own chickens for sure. 

Eggs straight from the chicken have a fine coating around them to protect any possible baby inside since the shell is porous. I am not sure if washing the eggs would be beneficial to the dog or not but I probably would for my dogs just because a dirty chicken butt was sitting on the eggs at some point. LOL


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

I have used eggs I bought in the grocery store months and months after, way after the expiration date. They keep like Twinkies.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

the shell is nice but not what i'd be concentrating on.

you want the egg from the chicken who is not being fed a grain diet.  but is allowed to forage and is not getting cracked corn and soy.


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## _unoriginal (Apr 8, 2012)

xellil said:


> I have used eggs I bought in the grocery store months and months after, way after the expiration date. They keep like Twinkies.


I thought the same thing, and did the same thing, until Bentley got the runs from them one day and then I had to wait until the next garbage day to trash them. They smelled fine but when I checked the date, it was close to 2 months past. :lol:


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

_unoriginal said:


> I thought the same thing, and did the same thing, until Bentley got the runs from them one day and then I had to wait until the next garbage day to trash them. They smelled fine but when I checked the date, it was close to 2 months past. :lol:


If you put them in water and they sink, they are ok. If they float, the shell has sprouted a leak and air has gotten in. But by looking at them, I can't tell the good ones from the bad ones.

We tend to let eggs sit and then go through spurts where we eat alot of them, so I often have old eggs in the fridge.


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

You wouldn't think there was so much involved in just thinking about a simple egg, would you! No wonder we can spend so much time talking about actual MEAT! 

I have been buying the cage-free eggs at the store, but of course there are ten different varieties of them, and there's a whole opinion on whether or not that actually means anything so that is why I've now started researching eggs. And of course, I have so much free time on my hands that I have nothing else to do :becky:

Thanks for all the thoughts.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

chowder said:


> You wouldn't think there was so much involved in just thinking about a simple egg, would you! No wonder we can spend so much time talking about actual MEAT!
> 
> I have been buying the cage-free eggs at the store, but of course there are ten different varieties of them, and there's a whole opinion on whether or not that actually means anything so that is why I've now started researching eggs. And of course, I have so much free time on my hands that I have nothing else to do :becky:
> 
> Thanks for all the thoughts.


i don't know about where you live, but no matter how free range or coddled the chickens are, store bought eggs are mostly fed a vegetarian diet. 

when they need bugs and they need to forage...they are omnivores, not herbivores.

i suppose if they are permitted to range with rotational ranging, they get to eat buggies and such...so that is better than nothing. 

make no mistake though, read the package. they have to disclose soy because of allergies and most of the 'vegetarian diets' contain corn and soy. 

i still feed my dogs eggs on occasion, but until liz comes through, they don't get them often.


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

magicre said:


> i still feed my dogs eggs on occasion, but until liz comes through, they don't get them often.


 Yea of the little patience.  Picking up two young adult - already laying Buff Orphington hens in two weeks. I need to reinforce their pen so they don't end up PMR for the neighbors hounds. LOL They are lovely, healthy and naturally reared. I get my rabbit from this guy also. 6 more hens coming as soon as they start laying.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Liz said:


> Yea of the little patience.  Picking up two young adult - already laying Buff Orphington hens in two weeks. I need to reinforce their pen so they don't end up PMR for the neighbors hounds. LOL They are lovely, healthy and naturally reared. I get my rabbit from this guy also. 6 more hens coming as soon as they start laying.


rabbit?

i of little patience? moi?


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## Liz (Sep 27, 2010)

I have 7 little rabbits in my freezer - he sells them to me for $2.75 pound. They are lovely, youngish, well fed and had lots of roaming space. He only raise 7-10 at a time. Let me know if you want some. He has six more coming up soon. Most are under 2 pounds.

I saw the hens and they are lovely and so well cared for. We are getting excited and hopefully will finish their pen this weekend. I have to buy all the seed for their grain so I can mix it myself, though they will also get veg/ fruit scrap and roam the yard.  No soy, no gmo corn.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

yes, please. i would so like some rabbits.


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## Gally (Jan 28, 2012)

Since we're already talking about eggs. When do you add eggs into the PMR diet?


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

Gally said:


> Since we're already talking about eggs. When do you add eggs into the PMR diet?


i don't know how others did it, but eggs came after organs. organs were the last thing we added as the transition to raw.

after that, we would add in the exotics...such as rabbit, llama, gamier proteins, etc...and of course, eggs.


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## _unoriginal (Apr 8, 2012)

I've been adding eggs since I fed grain-free kibble. I'll add an egg at most about 3x a week but really it's just when my mood sways me to put one in the bowl.


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## wolfsnaps88 (Jan 2, 2012)

I have been doing a lot of research on eggs (its the nerd in me) because at some point dangnabbit, I AM going to have chickens. 

I just wanted to point out that when you buy eggs that say "cage free" on them at the store, you are over paying. They usually cost more, right? Well here is the problem. The chickens are still housed in those chicken buildings. Instead of being cooped up in a tiny cage, they are cooped up in a building. It is still over crowded. Many times, when they say free range, all this means in there is a small door that allows the chickens to go outside. The chickens rarely ever use the door. They stay inside within the protection of the flock. 

I tried to find a clip of this to show you what I mean as I saw this on a movie called "Food Inc." They still eat the feed given to them and do not "range" for bugs. It may be a smidge more humane than living in a cage, but it is what it is. It is NOT the image in your mind of a flock of chickens happily catching grasshoppers on a green grass pasture in the sun. They are still housed in a windowless, overcrowded building with chicken crap and feather dust everywhere.


Oh, and also they are many times fed dandelions so their yolks will be orange. It does nothing for the chicken nutritionally or the egg, just makes it look less pale and gross.


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## creek817 (Feb 18, 2012)

We have chickens, but only three, and I think only one is laying at the moment, so we don't get nearly enough eggs to feed ourselves and the dog. But, when we do have eggs from our own chicken, I tend to feed them to Dobby haha. 

But we just feed a layer mix, with crushed eggshells mixed in. And they're out pecking in the grass all day, just locked up at night to protect them from foxes and such. And they also will eat any food the dogs leave in their bowls. Which includes Oscar's crapple that he tends to leave in the bowl (can't blame him!).

So, they're probably not on an ideal diet, but the eggs still taste a million times better than even the best store bought eggs.

When we move, we will have a bigger chicken pen and hopefully have 6 or 8 chickens at least, so we don't have to buy eggs anymore at all. =)


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

My pups get egg usually once per week. I used to crack the egg in the bowl and crush the shell. Now I just throw the egg in the bowl and let them get it open. For some resaon I almost always give egg with kidney. They only eat part of the shells.


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## brandypup (Jan 23, 2012)

I buy bulk eggs at the market. They are not organic. If I am going to pay 4-7$ for 12 organic eggs it will be directly to a farmer. Same with my milk. I want my own cows and chickens also. 

So is one egg with shell too much for a chihuahua? I ussaly split an egg between the 2 a couple times a week.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

wolfsnaps88 said:


> I have been doing a lot of research on eggs (its the nerd in me) because at some point dangnabbit, I AM going to have chickens.
> 
> I just wanted to point out that when you buy eggs that say "cage free" on them at the store, you are over paying. They usually cost more, right? Well here is the problem. The chickens are still housed in those chicken buildings. Instead of being cooped up in a tiny cage, they are cooped up in a building. It is still over crowded. Many times, when they say free range, all this means in there is a small door that allows the chickens to go outside. The chickens rarely ever use the door. They stay inside within the protection of the flock.
> 
> ...


what does it mean when it says they are sustainably rotated 

does that mean maybe they are not in that building?


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## kathylcsw (Jul 31, 2011)

brandypup said:


> So is one egg with shell too much for a chihuahua? I ussaly split an egg between the 2 a couple times a week.


I feed my Toy Fox Terrier an entire egg with shell. He gets 1 per week and weighs 6.4 lbs.


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## frogdog (Aug 10, 2011)

I was feeding Yogi free range organic chicken eggs occasionally but just started feeding locally farm raised quail eggs. He LOVES them...shell and all. I haven't washed an egg yet.


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## InkedMarie (Sep 9, 2011)

Many years ago, when my husband was a young boy, he worked at an egg farm. Eggs would come back because they were past the use by date; they'd just repack them. This is one reason we don't buy store bought eggs any longer.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

I'm paying $3 dozen to a co-worker who has chickens that she "pasture raises" roams and is getting a vegetarian diet of Non GMO and soy free stuff. The yolks are crazy yellow and I know I'm getting fresh eggs..I personally don't eat hardly any eggs but my DH does and so do the dogs! 

But, in looking for grocery store eggs, "pasture raised" is the word your looking for and Haggen just started carrying them about 4 months ago for about $8.00 a dozen.


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## doggiedad (Jan 23, 2011)

i give my dog a raw egg once or twice a week (maybe). when i give
him the whole egg i crack the egg and place it in his dog bowl. i take
the shell and put it in the the coffee grounder and then place it in 
his bowl. we use organic eggs from Trader Joe's, Whole Foods
or from farmer markets. rinsing the egg doesn't hurt it when feeding the
shell.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

whiteleo said:


> I'm paying $3 dozen to a co-worker who has chickens that she "pasture raises" roams and is getting a vegetarian diet of Non GMO and soy free stuff. The yolks are crazy yellow and I know I'm getting fresh eggs..I personally don't eat hardly any eggs but my DH does and so do the dogs!
> 
> But, in looking for grocery store eggs, "pasture raised" is the word your looking for and Haggen just started carrying them about 4 months ago for about $8.00 a dozen.


there are pasture egg raised eggs at my top....i think it's called pasture verde or something. they tasted like dirt. and weren't so yellow like the sun. they were also almost nine dollars.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

magicre said:


> there are pasture egg raised eggs at my top....i think it's called pasture verde or something. they tasted like dirt. and weren't so yellow like the sun. they were also almost nine dollars.



Dirt huh! I never tried them, didn't have to! It's nice having eggs delivered to work and stuck in the fridge for me to pick and take home to the hubby and dogs.....Yum!


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## xellil (Apr 4, 2011)

i buy fresh eggs at the feed store for $2.50 a dozen and I know those eggs are full of dead grasshoppers! They are delicious.


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