About eggs

Virtually all civilisations have realised that bird eggs make pretty good eating, and the egg laying hen has been developed to produce pretty good eggs. Eggs are absolutely packed with nutrients. If you are hungry and eat an egg, food cravings go.

But do be sure you only purchase reputable free range AND organic eggs. Just free range is not good enough as free range chickens are often fed on layers pellets that contain nasty chemicals, and kept in small outside yards with no natural feed.  Your eggs must be genuinely free range in that the hens must have access to naturally growing healthy plants with a diverse ecosystem of bugs, and when their feed is supplemented, it must also be organic. 

Essential Fatty Acids

Egg yolks contain the Omega-3 fatty acid DHA, which is necessary for brain and eye function. Eggs boost memory and mood. They also contain the Omega-6 fatty acids that are required for the healthy skin, hair, libido, reproduction, growth and response to injury. These fatty acids are needed by young children, pregnant and lactating women and by people with degenerative diseases, especially those of the nervous system and brain such as Alzheimer's. Their range of nutrients makes them a better source of these fatty acids than fatty fish and cod liver oil.

Cholesterol

There is no evidence to show that the cholesterol in eggs contributes to heart disease. According to Sally Fallon in her wonderful cookbook, Nourishing Traditions, eggs are fed to burns patients to aid with re-building skin. Even when fed huge numbers of eggs each day their serum cholesterol levels do not go up, and may, in some cases, go down. 

General Nutrition

Eggs provide the best quality protein, and all known vitamins and minerals except vitamin C. 

Keeping and Caring for Hens
If you have the space to keep hens, two will supply you with more than enough eggs for one person.

Hens should be kept free range so that they can eat as much fresh grass and bugs as they can find, but you must provide them with safe clean roosts to return to at night, and cosy, clean boxes to lay their eggs in.

You can feed them all your fruit, vegetable and meat scraps. You cannot over-feed hens. If you need to supplement their feed, use organic grain, not layers pellets which can be filled with all sorts of nasty chemicals best avoided. It is the "greens" that they eat that makes their yolks yellow.  If your eggs are not yellow, it may be because your hens are not getting access to enough greens. If their shells are malformed there is also some problem with their diet.

Get a good book on care of hens, as they are prone to a range of diseases.

Where not to keep hens

Hens can really damage a vegetable garden, so if you cannot keep them away from your vegies, consider bantams, which are smaller and lay smaller eggs but do not dig up gardens. Also, keep them away from areas treated with pesticide such as the perimeter of houses, as the pesticide will contaminate the eggs.