Learning self-sufficiency
Fresh eggs have a variety of benefits over commercial eggs including flavor, eye appeal (yolk color, shell color, and consistency), and even nutritional content.
According to an oft-cited 2007 study by Mother Earth News Magazine, eggs laid by hens raised on pasture, as compared with eggs laid by confined factory farm chickens have:
Every now and then a little red dot will show up in a fresh egg. This is a bloodspot. Bloodspots are caused by abrasions or other irritation in the hen’s oviduct.
Contrary to what most believe, a bloodspot does not indicate fertilization. Fertilization can only occur when a male chicken has access to the laying hens. Eggs are laid whether a rooster is present or not, and can contain bloodspots whether fertilized or unfertilized. While we don’t have a rooster, and thus don’t have fertilized eggs, we’ve read that a fertilized egg that has been refrigerated since the day it was collected will not appear or taste any different from an unfertilized one.