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Marans breed eggs
The egg structure:
" The more or less intense color of the yellow is link to pigments contained in vegetables the hen eats. "
Eggs
Yellow resulting from French Marans hen breed spreads out less than eggs from supermarket.
Conditions d’élevage At least 2,5 m2 of the outside ground by hen and biological food At least 2,5 m2 of the outside ground by hen Extensive breeding , but without cage and with at most 9 hens by m2. Breeding in cage with 18 hens by m2.
The oyster shells are indispensable to have thick eggs shells.
In France, the majority of the hens raised every year to produce eggs - more than 80 % - are industrially brought up. They are detained in long rows of cages in batteries(drum kits), and live permanently on 550cm2 surface (paper A4 format). To know more about it, visit the educational site Protection mondiale des animaux de ferme (PMAF): www.education.pmaf.org.
Did you know it?
The egg and the hen: It is not necessary to have a cock for the hens to lay. When a cock goes on a hen there're chances that it is fertilized. An egg must be exempt from cracks and from stains whether it is for the consumption or to put it in an incubator. The hens do not lay all along the year ; the lack of light, too cold or too warm temperature, the moult, the diseases or the parasites, the stress are often factors who wil stop hens laying. A hybrid hen can lay up to 300 eggs the first year when a breed hen is going to lay from 150 to 200 eggs. The decline of laying second year and next years is unavoidable. We consider that a breed hen is going to lay "correctly" until its 4th years. The egg, a vitamins cocktail: The egg yolk contains vitamins A, B, D, E as well as iron and phosphor. The iron in an egg is better absorbed by the organism than the one resulting from vegetables. The egg and cholesterol: The blood cholesterol at too much raised rate increases the risk of cardiovascular accidents. The cholesterol resulting from the food is only 20 % while 80 % is synthetized by the liver. The egg and the proteins: There is 12 % of proteins in an egg. They are rich in essential amino acids which can be brought to the body only by the food. Proteins of the egg are very easily digestible and allow to fill the sensation of hunger. An egg brings the same quantity of proteins than 2 yoghourts, 50g of meat or 250ml of milk. The egg and the lipids: There is 7g of lipids in an 60g egg. Lipids are escentiels in the constitution of nerve tissues and cellular membranes. Fresh or not fresh? : To test if an egg is fresh we plunge it into the salt water. If it stays at bottom it is fresh, if it stays " between two waters " it already has several days, if it fleet it's is not consumable any more. Why? In fact the egg loses some water by evaporation, as a consequence it loses weight and leaves place with a bigger pocket of air which makes it float. If it is not indispensable to keep eggs in the fridge it is anyway better if you want to preserve it longer ( a little less than a month). You should not wash the shell of egg otherwise you remove the protective coating. It explains that an egg with crack on the shell must be consumed cooked a long time.
Eggs code... An European law obliges the professional breeders to inform the consumer about their method of breeding. Don't look only at beautiful labels!
The shell of the egg: The shell is more or less thick according to the breed. The contribution of limestone is essential to the constitution of an egg. It is necessary to give to the hens oyster shells crushed or to mix finely crushed shells of eggs. Without contribution of calcium we obtain eggs with a soft and fragile shell. The shell color is genetic, the food have no effect on it. We find eggs with different colors as blue-green (hen araucana), extra-red (French Marans hen breed), cream or white (Bresse hen breed). Eggs to be hatched: We collect eggs every day to avoid that the hens not break or does not make them dirty. It musn't have cracks or stains, neither too big nor too small. We shall keep eggs in a fresh place (approximately 15°c) not exposed to the light nor to the excessive humidity. It is advised to move them regularly to avoid that the embryo sticks on the wall of the egg (from 2 to 4 times by days). The potential rate of hatchings decreases quickly after 10 days of age. We cannot see if eggs are fertilized before some days of incubation. We use an egg candler to see by transparency in the egg if there's a chick.

Number indicated before the country letters (FR for France) 0 1 2 3
On the egg box Eggs of free-range hens (organic farming) Eggs of free-range hens Eggs of hens raised to the ground Eggs of hens raised in cage
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