The Incredible Egg!

And my name is Dustin .

Hi my name is Brandon.

We chose to study chickens because we love to eat eggs. The only thing is, you can’t get eggs from just any animal. We get our eggs from chickens.

It’s not only that eggs are so tasty...

They are also full of vitamins that will make you healthy, wealthy, and wise.

at the nutritious side of eggs.

Eggs are known as a SUPPER food !!!

• One egg has half a carbohydrate. This is great for diabetics that need to keep their carbohydrates low.

• The egg is a good source of B1,B2 and B12. This is important in pregnancy to develop the brain of the baby.

• It is good for body builders because the high protein level it has. • It is also high in zinc. Zinc improves the flow of blood to the

brain preventing mental deterioration.

Eggs also... • The egg is a good source of calcium which will help keep

headaches away.

• An incredible egg will help in the fight against cancer because of its vitamin A and vitamin D content .

• The egg is something you need to take when you are anomic because it has folic acid.

• It also has many other vitamins such as potassium,

phosphorus, selenium, vitamin E, vitamin K, and all other vitamins except for vitamin c .

Vitamin A

260 IU Protein

3.35 g

Folic Acid

32 mcg

Calcium

28 mg

Iron 1.04 mg

Magnesium 6 mg

Vitamin E 0.78 IU

Vitamin D

Vitamin B2 0.15 mg Vitamin B 12

0.773 mg

Selenium 15.4 mcg Zinc

0.72 mg Cystine 0.145

Let’s see what is packed in that incredible egg.

Many products are made

from eggs!

Eggs are used in making hair and skin shiny and healthy.

Egg is even used in dog food.

All of this goodness comes from chicken eggs, but you can’t get it from any chicken. So we had to choose what kind of chickens

to get.

There are many different breeds of chickens used for many

different things.

Some are used for their meat.

Cornish Australorps

These chickens are for incubating eggs.

Ancona

Silks

And there are chickens for laying.

Isa brown Spangled Hamburg

White Leghorn Plymouth Rock

We chose Isa browns because they are good layers, most readily available, and

don’t go broody.

Now we have the chickens, but that is not all it takes to get those

incredible eggs.

There is a lot of work involved, and a lot of studying and research to do.

Building a house for your chickens.

Having proper housing for your chickens is important.

Foxes like chickens so it is important that your housing will protect them.

They also need a place to get out of the rain as chickens don’t like to be wet.

Inside your house you would need a roosts for the chickens to sleep on at night.

Nest are important..

The nest must be in a dark, and quite place that will be warm. It is also a good idea to have a way

to get eggs from the outside of the house.

They need

lots of clean water with

garlic.

The reason we put garlic in their water is to keep them from getting worms .

It is also important to clip one of their wings, or else your

chickens will fly away.

To get good egg production you must feed your

chickens properly.

We feed our chickens free range layer pellets with grit. However there are several ways to feed them, but you must remember that they can’t

eat just any thing to get their vitamins to lay eggs.

Chickens need vitamins, and minerals to have the energy for laying eggs. The main things they need is protein, and calcium. You give them protein and calcium through the grit.

A unhealthy chicken laid this egg.

A healthy chicken laid this egg.

Although you need to feed your chickens layer pellets , free range chickens get a lot of their food from the paddock.

Hygiene is very important. If you don’t have high

hygiene standards you might kill your whole flock with

diseases.

There are several diseases they can get that will affect their

laying.

Here are a few of them. Newcastle disease- There is no hope for the bird

if it has gotten this disease, but you can help prevent it by keeping the feed clean, and spraying for mozzies.

Bumble foot disease- when the chicken gets this disease you can cut it out, but it is better to clean their house than to do surgery.

Avian pox- Avian pox is transmitted by mozzies, in direct contact, and direct contact of the skin.

Gumboro, Mycoplasmosis, Ochratoxicosis, Fowl cholera, and Histomoniasis also known as Blackhead.

Most of these diseases can be spread to humans as well as any other bird you may have. The prevention of most diseases is high hygiene standards.

Bugs are a problem!

These are some bugs to look out for. • Lice are a big problem and hard to get rid of

some times. There are six varieties of lice, shaft lice, large chicken lice, head lice, wing lice, and fluff lice.

• Mites are also a problem, there four different types to contend with. Northern fowl, Red mites, scaly leg mites, and Depluming mites.

• Bed bugs will stop egg producing.

• If your chickens have any of these bugs they will be itching and pulling out their feathers. The answer to this problem is to clean their house , and dust them with one of the following : Crumbled tobacco leaves, Rotenone sulphur, Co-Ral, or wood ashes with some old cooking oil.

Even with all of that work you might lose some.

Here is were studying takes place. We are trying to find out what made this chicken die, so that we can prevent from losing any more.

now It is the chickens’ job to

lay the eggs.

Watching for chickens eating eggs.

But if you don’t get as many eggs as you think you should, It wouldn’t be bad if you watched you chickens for a day to see if they are eating

your eggs. If they are eating the eggs they must be killed.

As you can see it is a big process to take

care of your chickens.

With proper care they will pick up from here.

Now that the chickens have

worked hard at laying the eggs, we

gather the eggs!

Secondly we wash the eggs.

We cook the eggs!

Now for the best

part; eating

the eggs!

It is a lot of work to get

the incredible egg. But it

pays of in the end to have

chickens.

References

• http://www.backyardchickens.com/

• http://www.organicvet.co.uk/DiseaseManage/DiseaseManage1.htm

• http://www.heritagehatchingandhens.com.au/user/33119212/web/33119212_index.asp

• http://www.farmpride.com.au/our_egg_products.asp

• http://www.backyardchickens.com/breeds/breed-chart

• http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=92

• http://www.organicvet.co.uk/

• The Encyclopaedia of Country Living by Carla Emery

• Back to Basics by readers digest.

GOLD SILVER PLATINUM

BRONZE

WOULD LIKE TO THANK THE SPONSORS OF THE

2011 CREAM OF THE CROP COMPETITION