Are you Wasting Health Benefits by eating Chicken Eggs?

Duck eggs have more benefits than chicken eggs, period. Don’t get us wrong, chicken eggs are a fantastic, nutritional benefit of owning your own poultry and we would NEVER suggest that people not love and consume them.  However, there’s a lot of myths and unknown facts surrounding duck eggs and we think everyone should at least try them, if not use them regularly.

The same breakfast you’ve eaten for years has the potential to offer you more, all you have to do is change your egg source. Ducks are beloved members of the poultry world and we just don’t think their eggs get enough credit.  The eggs of a duck tend to be larger than chicken eggs, stay fresher longer, and best of all, contain more Essential Vitamins and minerals than chicken eggs, including more Vitamin D, more Omega-3 Fatty Acids, and more protein.

With all the benefits that they have, why are they not found in supermarkets everywhere?  We believe that this is because it’s a widely accepted fact that duck eggs can be “rubbery” and that they taste different and that this keeps lots of people from trying them. If you’ve tried them, maybe these differences keep you from using them regularly.

The truth is the extra goodness in the eggs can create a different texture and taste, but cooking them for a little less time than your standard chicken egg will greatly improve that and bring it more closely to what you are used to. Also, if you have compared the taste of very fresh chicken eggs to those bought in a grocery store, you already have an idea of how much variation in taste can exist between eggs. Most of the time adjusting to slight differences in taste and texture to foods you have always eaten takes a little effort. In the meantime, the extra goodies in duck eggs make them richer and superb for baking, especially desserts.

The fact remains that, to enjoy duck eggs, you will first have to be open to trying them.  If you haven’t owned a duck, you can find someone who does and try their eggs.  Better yet, get yourself a few duck hens and enjoy their antics, dog-like obedience, and love for you while you wait for them to produce eggs just for you.  When you do try them, understand that, much like a chicken, the diet of the duck that produced your eggs will also make a difference in the taste and coloration of the egg. The yolk may be darker and closer to an orange color, or lighter and more yellowish depending on the season and whether the duck is eating more free-range or more bagged food.

If you are interested in raising ducks for egg production we have a special hybrid we call White Layer Ducks specifically for egg production. For some color variation or pure breeds we recommend the Khaki Campbell, Pekin, Blue Swedish, Runner varieties, Silver Appleyard, and Welsh Harlequin. Although they are heavy layers and any duck that lays eggs will provide all of the benefits mentioned above.  So, why not give it a try?  We love our chickens but if the same breakfast can offer us more, why not give it a shot?