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Farm-fresh eggs carry sunshine and a connection to the land, from our sunny pastures to your morning omelet! With all the labels and conflicting information on eggs, it can be hard to crack the truth about what makes farm fresh eggs “better.”

Let’s go into the coop to examine the world of our pasture-raised chickens and their delicious bounty.

Understanding the Terminology: Free-Range, Cage-Free, and Pasture Raised

• Cage-Free: Cage-free means just that — free of cages but not necessarily free to move. Hens may still be tightly packed indoors, with little room to move around and unable to practice natural foraging behaviors.
• Free-Range: In traditional free-range systems, chickens are given access to the outside, although this may be of very different qualities and range area. This term takes on a new meaning for us, and we playfully state our chickens are “free REIGN.”   Our coop doesn’t even have a door, and our chickens are free to roam wherever they want to – thanks to our three incredibly vigilant Livestock Guardian Dogs.
• Pasture-Raised: This is an accurate picture of S&B Bell Farms since a pasture-raised chicken can forage on vegetation and insects in pastures. They are eating various foods, and the outcome is an egg with an added enriched value of nutrients.

Nutritional Superiority of Pasture-Raised Eggs

However, the fact of the matter is that the nutritional content of farm-fresh eggs is profoundly affected by the distance traveled from pasture to plate!

Pasture-raised eggs typically contain higher values of:

• Omega-3 Fatty Acids: The chicken’s diverse diet, including insects and plants, contributes to elevated levels of omega-3 fatty acids
• Vitamins A, E, and D: Natural sunlight exposure due to outdoor foraging enhances these vitamin levels
• Beta-carotene: The bright orange-yellow color of a pasture-raised egg yolk shows the presence of this rich antioxidant.

Decoding Yolk Colors

One glance at a pasture-raised egg’s yolk, and you’ll notice a deep, golden hue that sets it apart from paler factory-raised counterparts. This distinction is not merely aesthetic; it reflects the nutritional richness within.

The color of the yolk is all dependent upon a chicken’s diet! When they have access to pasture and eat a mix of plants and insects, this accounts for higher intakes of nutritious food.

Shell Colors: Busting a Myth

The other exciting part of the egg’s color is the exterior shell, which, most of the time, will draw arguments on the differences in taste. The fact is that the color of the shell does not influence the taste of the egg. It is primarily dependent on the breed of chicken!

And… brown eggs have no more nutritional value than white eggs.

Do Farm Fresh Eggs “Really” Taste Different?

The question of whether eggs with different shell colors taste distinct is a common one. At S&B Bell Farms, the consensus is that the real magic happens inside the egg. The richness of flavor in farm-fresh eggs results from the chicken’s diverse diet and natural foraging.

Supporting Sustainable Practices

Supporting sustainable practices is synonymous with choosing farm-fresh, and that is precisely what S&B Bell Farms offers.  Our commitment to responsible farming ensures that our chickens live happy, healthy lives, producing good eggs that are good for you and for the planet.

So the next time you pick up that carton of eggs, remember: it’s not just breakfast. It’s a deliberate choice supporting ethical farming; it’s feeding your body and bringing a little bit of our  farm to your kitchen.

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