#2 in The Series

I have a wonderful and eccentric neighbour, named Mr. Gorsky, who has a chicken coop in his backyard. We do not live in the country, but in a city of over 90,000 residents, with a large chain grocery store just a few minutes walk away. One day, I asked Mr. Gorsky “Why do you keep chickens when the store is so close?” His answer surprised me. He said “Because the eggs taste better.”

He must have seen the look on my face because he went on to elaborate. First, Mr. Gorsky told me what the chickens eat changes the flavour of their eggs. His chickens are allowed to free range in his fenced backyard so they get plenty of fresh grass, weeds, bugs, seeds and berries. (The chickens are good natural insect and pest control.)

Secondly, he told me he feeds his chickens mac and cheese. In addition, he also mixes table scraps with pellet feed, scratch grains and crushed oyster shells. I was having very strange images of him cooking dinner for his hens complete with candles and dinner music.

Then, thirdly, he asked me a question -- “Did you know eggs are seasonal?” I didn’t. The grocery store always has eggs. “In the spring, the hens are more productive and the eggs have brighter, more yellow yolks. In the fall and winter, the hens rest for a few weeks to conserve energy to stay warm. In the past, cooks would adjust how they used eggs according to the seasons.” This was a good tip. I am learning a lot about eggs and also Mr. Gorsky.

Finally, Mr. Gorsky then told me about a new idea he had read about in one of his poultry magazines. It is called “Community Chickens”. The idea is a group of people, living in an urban setting like ours; take turns caring for a brood (all hens) of chickens. Everyone shares the responsibility and the fresh home grown eggs. The goal is to build community and spread the knowledge of successful small scale homesteading.

I am starting to think Mr. Gorsky would be an excellent teacher. It would also be a good way to increase the positive energy in our backyards. I said I would do some more research and get back to him. I wanted to know if healthy chickens like Mr. Gorsky’s girls produce healthier eggs. Here is what I found.

Mr. Gorsky is harboring a fantastic secret. His chickens are producing free range eggs that are not only great tasting but more nutritious than store bought eggs.

For example, they have:

• 2 to 3 times more vitamin A
• 4 to 6 times more vitamin D
• 3 times more vitamin E
• 7 times more carotene and
• 2 times more omega 3

Other benefits include:

• they are higher in Lutein, an antioxidant found in the yolks
• they are higher in Zeaxanthin, a nutrient valuable to eye health and
• higher in Folic Acid, important for cell growth especially for babies and moms

I told Mr. Gorsky I would help him in raising some community chickens and I will talk to the other neighbors. The health benefits are worth the effort. We can all be neighborly and eccentric together and I like that.