Answer:
The eggs are so active we have to cut off their legs to keep them in the carton. Just kidding! It's a matter of sloppy English. What is meant is that the hens are able to run around outside usually in a field or pen.It's the Chicken not the Egg that is free-range! The big question is, are the eggs laid in a nestbox or were they collected from whereever she laid them. If not laid in the nest boxes, then you have to guess how old they are. Another consideration is feed. Plenty of lush grass tends to fill up the hen with less nutritious food. A certain level of protein (16%) is required for good egg production. Pasture fed chickens must have a higher percentage feed than normal to produce similar quality eggs. Does a woman fill up on lettuce when nursing a child? No, she needs to watch her food intake to produce milk. There is always a balancing act. Current research at Penn State states that with optimum forage on pasture, yes, eggs can be higher in Vit E and Omega 3, however, optimum pasture is not a year round possibility with droughts and frozen grounds - it is a limited scenario.The report states:
"The researchers noted that the hens did not forage to the degree necessary to meet their requirements for energy and protein, when compared to the commercial birds. At the end of the experiment, pastured hens weighed 14 percent less and averaged 15 percent lower egg production than commercial birds.
"Pastured hens were lacking dietary protein and energy to match the intake of the commercial hens," Patterson explained. "We have since estimated that, at the level of voluntary forage consumption of hens in this study, pastured hens would require additional mash feed to sustain body weight and egg production equal to that of the commercial hens Supplementing the birds with additional mash, however, would likely result in reduced omega-3 fatty acid and vitamin A and E concentrations in their eggs," he added. "Further research is needed to identify how to optimize pastured poultry feed supplementation for optimum egg production, hen welfare and egg nutritional quality."
"The researchers noted that the hens did not forage to the degree necessary to meet their requirements for energy and protein, when compared to the commercial birds. At the end of the experiment, pastured hens weighed 14 percent less and averaged 15 percent lower egg production than commercial birds.
"Pastured hens were lacking dietary protein and energy to match the intake of the commercial hens," Patterson explained. "We have since estimated that, at the level of voluntary forage consumption of hens in this study, pastured hens would require additional mash feed to sustain body weight and egg production equal to that of the commercial hens Supplementing the birds with additional mash, however, would likely result in reduced omega-3 fatty acid and vitamin A and E concentrations in their eggs," he added. "Further research is needed to identify how to optimize pastured poultry feed supplementation for optimum egg production, hen welfare and egg nutritional quality."
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