Cracking the Egg Code
- Conventional
- Cage-Free
- Pasture Raised
- Enriched Colony
- Certified Organic
- Brown
- Free-Range
- Pasteurized
- Omega-3 Enriched
- Vegetarian Fed
Laid by hens in enclosures that also serve as nesting space.
Laid by hens not housed in enclosures. Hens roam in a building, room or open area that includes nest space and
perches.
Laid by hens who roam and forage on a maintained pasture area. The USDA does not recognize a labeling definition for pastured eggs as no standards are established.
Laid by hens in enclosures that include perch space, dust bathing or scratch areas and nest space.
Laid by cage-free or free-range hens raised on certified organic feed and have access to the outdoors. The feed is grown without most synthetic pesticides, fungicides, herbicides or fertilizers and 100% of the agricultural ingredients must be certified organic.
The color of the egg shell has nothing to do with the egg’s nutritional value, quality or flavor. Hens with white feathers and white ear lobes lay white eggs; hens with red feathers and red ear lobes lay brown eggs
Laid by hens not housed in enclosures and with access to the outdoors. In addition to eating grains, these hens may forage for wild plants and insects.
Eggs heated to a temperature just below the coagulation point to destroy pathogens.
Laid by hens fed a special diet rich in omega-3s. These eggs provide more omega-3 fatty acids, from 100 mg to over 600 mg per egg.
Laid by hens fed a vegetarian diet.
Meet Our Farmers
Our egg farmers are located all over the state from Hyde County to Cherokee County. We have approximately 9 million birds which lay about 7 ½ million eggs a day. That is about one bird per person North Carolina. And since the average person eats about 260 eggs per year, we produce enough eggs to feed our residents. Hens lay an egg about once every 26 hours and usually skip a day in the week.
North Carolina has egg producers who have a variety of egg production systems, offering consumers choices of types and prices of eggs. There are modern cage systems, free running houses, vegetarian feed, organic feed, white and brown eggs and specialty branded eggs, such as Eggland’s Best being produced in NC.
SIMPSON’S
EGGS
BRASWELL
FAMILY
ROSE ACRE
FARMS
P&R FARMS/
DUTT & WAGNER
NC Egg Farmer’s Overview
Hen Nutrition & Egg Production
- Our feed is corn soybean meal
- Balanced vitamins and minerals for optimal nutrition
- No growth hormones used
Local Egg Farming Impact
- We work with our neighbors and for our neighbors
- 85% of corn is from local farmers (farthest 50-60 miles away)
- We work 365 days a year, we never shutdown.