Egg season on Padgett
By Marika Varro
It’s hard not to notice the “Eggs for sale” sign when driving southbound on Padgett Road. One Tree Farm, owned by Matt and Wilma Duggan, offers not just eggs, but chickens, blueberries and other produce as well.
“Eggs are laid by female chickens (hens). They are omnivores, which means they eat both meat and plants. They enjoy eating insects, larvae, worms and different types of vegetation, which might explain the unique combination of nutrients found in eggs,” explains Matt.
Not all eggs are created equal
Stand in front of the egg cooler in your supermarket and you will find an array of labels whose terms are legal but can be misleading. Cage-free, free-range, free-roaming, omega 3-enriched, vegetarian (that totally puzzles me) and organic. What does it all mean? It’s hard to figure out the standards as to how often or for how long the hens actually spend outside.
Your best bet is to buy locally from farmers who let their chickens run free all day, so they can eat bugs, worms and grass, and the food given to them is organic (not containing GMO crops, animal byproducts or antibiotics). Local eggs can vary from $5 to $8 per dozen.
Eggs aren’t just delicious and versatile; they are extremely nutritious and contain only 70 calories per large egg. They contain all nine essential amino acids which are considered the “building blocks of the body” as well as 14 key nutrients like vitamins A, all the B vitamins, D, E, K, selenium, iron, magnesium and more.
Eggs provide energy, they build and repair body tissue and cells, they create strong hair and fingernails, build and maintain muscles, help fight infections, keep body fluids in balance and believe it or not they help protect against heart disease.
The variety of eggs enjoyed among the world’s cultures includes duck, goose, quail, turkey, ostrich, and of course chicken eggs.
Eggs have been regarded as a symbol of rebirth, renewal, beginnings and fertility.
A lil’ Egg history
Eggs were once forbidden during Lent so Catholics had to wait till until Easter to eat them, which is one reason why eggs became associated with Easter.
Painting eggshells has been a popular custom in many ancient civilizations, including Chinese, Greek, Egyptian and Persian.
Do you know the definition of relay?
What chickens do when the farmer takes their eggs away.
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