Everyone knows eggs are very important for our health, but the question is did they came from a healthy or unhealthy chicken?
First of all, a healthy chicken eats whatever it needs such as meat (they should not be restricted to a vegetarian nutrition); moreover, they eat snakes, bugs, rodents, etc. A well fed chicken’s nutrients are passed onto its eggs. In order for proper intake of these nutrients chickens must have fresh air and free space. Chickens locked into small hatches during their lifetime will never have quality eggs as chickens which have free movement.
If you want to be sure that you are buying quality eggs you should check these factors:
1. Density and shell thickness:
If you gently tap the egg and it cracks, then you should avoid the eggs. If a chicken’s nutrition is rich and her health is optimized, then the shells of the eggs are strong. So, if an egg is pretty difficult to crack then it is likely very healthy.
2. Thickness of the yolk
Yolks from healthier eggs are rounder and thicker.
3. Color of the yolk
A lot of Americans are used to eating eggs that have brighter, yellowish yolks, but this is not necessarily the healthier variant since healthier eggs have orange yolks and what’s more, the darker the color, the better the egg quality.
According to The Oxford Journal, if a chicken’s intake of beta carotene is increased, the presence of beta carotene in its eggs is also increased. In addition, The Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry stated that increased DHA levels in the nutrition of the chicken had an influence on the higher presence of omega-3 fatty acids in its eggs.
