Supposedly Free Range eggs but caged from local butchers

xlt_hunter

jaxxy00 wrote: »

Have thanked you but not sure i really mean it. So does that mean if i get them direct from a farm shop then they wont have gone through the machine thing and i am much more likely to end up with one of them blood eggs one day? Scary thought that :eek:

At the risk of sounding really dumb, how do you know which eggs are going to grow into chicks and which are not? Is there ever a chance of breaking an egg and having a chick inside? I know the................ soz im going to look it up or people will think i really am stuped . Im not.

hehe - the only way to catch blood eggs or one that is growing into a chick is to candle them. Which is a normal bend over spot desk lamp with a peice of metal near where the blub is to block off the light with a hold in the middle to fit the egg though so one end is in the lamp and the other end where you can see what is inside - trick is try not to break the egg doing this and do 4 at the same time (bit of knack to do that ) I loved that job, would like to go back, but I can;t as I got chooks myself

The image below is a line of eggs - dark ones are the ones with chicks inside:


7 Day old chick in the egg:


Here is a few examples of a candler:
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/eggs/res25-candler.html
http://www.solwayfeeders.com/ProductsDetail1.asp?STOCK_CODE=1119&froogle=true

ndbruton

I'm an EHO and remember reading up on this issue a few years back, it is becoming a problem because of the premium you pay for free range/organic produce, unscrupulous traders can obviously profit from this. It is misleading to the consumer, even fraudulent, so I would encourage anybody to report matters of this nature through Consumer Direct to their local Trading Standards/Environmental Health Depts.

The Egg Marketing Inspectorate oversee egg production and marketing in the UK, although in retail shops and caterers this will be looked after by Trading Standards (http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodrin/poultry/trade/emi/index.htm).

xlt_hunter

ndbruton wrote: »

I'm an EHO and remember reading up on this issue a few years back, it is becoming a problem because of the premium you pay for free range/organic produce, unscrupulous traders can obviously profit from this. It is misleading to the consumer, even fraudulent, so I would encourage anybody to report matters of this nature through Consumer Direct to their local Trading Standards/Environmental Health Depts.

The Egg Marketing Inspectorate oversee egg production and marketing in the UK, although in retail shops and caterers this will be looked after by Trading Standards (http://www.defra.gov.uk/foodrin/poultry/trade/emi/index.htm).

There you go, stright from the horses mouth so to speak
Inform EHO, Trading Standards and Defra

This is why I say - how do you know that you egg is true free range - so the only why to do this is to see the chooks in a little farm that you can trust - ie a back yard sale

Lotus-eater

jaxxy00 wrote: »

Have thanked you but not sure i really mean it. So does that mean if i get them direct from a farm shop then they wont have gone through the machine thing and i am much more likely to end up with one of them blood eggs one day? Scary thought that :eek:

At the risk of sounding really dumb, how do you know which eggs are going to grow into chicks and which are not? Is there ever a chance of breaking an egg and having a chick inside? I know the................ soz im going to look it up or people will think i really am stuped . Im not.

I get alot of fertilised eggs sometimes from someone I know, all the hens run with cockerals, I hatched some out once and they all had chicks. But until they are incubated all eggs are fine to eat, fertilised or not.
So don't worry about candling the eggs unless they have been sitting under a hen or in a incubator for a while, then I wouldn't fancy eating them myself tbh


edit, never knew about blood and meat spots in eggs before, I don't think I've ever seen one and I've been eating my own eggs for years. Maybe I don't look hard enough

boredofbeingathome

I have always tried to be careful where i bought my eggs from and will go out of my way to buy free range or organic. Went to a local farm shop which had clear label saying, free range and asked about them as well confirmed free range. No stamp on them and they are on blue trays- which according to the above means barn eggs. They are 90p fo 6, should i go back to the shop or stick to supermarkets, booths-one of our local supermarkets gets some eggs from a yorkshire organic farm and they are the best i have ever tasted but very pricey at 1.40 for 6. I'm just confused right now but the farm shop eggs are also tasty.

xlt_hunter

nearly there on the tray colours - blue = Free Range

Again

Cage = Grey
Barn = Green
Free Range = Blue
Organic = Pink

boredofbeingathome

xlt_hunter wrote: »

nearly there on the tray colours - blue = Free Range

Again

Cage = Grey
Barn = Green
Free Range = Blue
Organic = Pink

thanks i must have misread and was a bit miffed thinking i had been conned into buying wrong product. All happy again now:D