LSOF News Page

FUN FACTS!

Candling:

Many years ago this referred to holding a candle behind an egg to perform quality checks of an eggs interior. Today, we use equipment to spot check by hand and we use a conveyor based system that rolls and rotates the eggs over high intensity lights. Abby, one of our candlers, carefully watches over the eggs as they pass through and grabs the ones that don't meet grade.

Egg Yolk:

This yellow portion of an egg contains all of the fat and less than half of the protein in the egg. With the exception of niacin and riboflavin, the yolk contains a higher proportion of the egg’s vitamins than the white, including vitamins B6 and B12, folic acid, pantothenic acid and thiamin. All of the egg’s vitamins A, D, E and K are in the yolk. Egg yolks are one of the few foods naturally containing vitamin D. The yolk also contains more calcium, copper, iron, manganese, phosphorus, selenium and zinc than the white. Double-yolk eggs and no-yolk eggs are uncommon, but safe to consume. (Some even consider double-yolk eggs a sign of good luck!)

Sizing Up Schultz Eggs:

Eggs come in a variety of sizes, I’m sure you have noticed the normal sizes of Large and Extra-Large at you store or co-op, but have you ever seen a Pee-wee or Super Jumbo? How does this happen?
Several factors influence the size of an egg. Older hens lay larger eggs because the bird uses less protein for herself. Young hens will produce smaller eggs because she is using the protein for herself until she is up to weight, then she will shift the protein use to creating bigger eggs. Breed and environmental factors also play a role in egg size. When the hen is stressed due to heat, or overcrowding she may eat less which will produce smaller eggs from not consuming the protein needed.
Pictured is a Pee-Wee egg and a Super Jumbo egg with a quarter to scale the size.)

Cage-Free & Free-Range Eggs:

Cage-Free:
Eggs labeled "cage-free" or "from free-roaming hens" are laid by hens that are allowed to roam in open areas, like a barn or hen house. The hens may still live in close quarters with many other hens. They are distinguished from their cage-confined counterparts, which do not have space to move, stretch or engage in natural behaviors, which may cause them to engage in destructive behaviors such as feather pulling or pecking at their neighbors.
Schultz's eggs are cage-free AND free-range

Free-Range:
Or, pasture-fed, hens are raised outdoors, or with access to the outdoors. Free-range hens usually have more space to move around and engage in natural behaviors, free-range eggs may be preferred as a more humane alternative to eggs from the caged hens, or even the cage-free hens.

The Color of Eggs:

Brown or White?

Does it matter?
Egg color is determined by the color of the hen that lays the eggs. Generally, in commercial egg production, white eggs come from white leghorn hens (most common type in the United States). Rhode Island Red and Bovine Brown hens lay brown eggs. The color of an egg does not impact the flavor, quality, or nutrition of the egg.

Turkey Eggs:

Turkeys also lay eggs, but you aren’t likely going to find them in a grocery store. Turkeys need more nesting room, so housing them is less economical, and they have stronger mothering instincts than chickens, so collecting their eggs are difficult.

We do not sell turkey eggs.