Are larger chicken eggs cruel, less tasty and less nutritious?

[PaleoPhil]

I've been buying medium large rather than extra large or jumbo eggs for a while, based largely on intuition and educated guessing. I finally got round to researching it and it looks like my intuition was on target, if these claims are true:

Buying large eggs is cruel, shoppers told
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article5884068.ece
> “I prefer medium eggs,” he said. They taste better, are less watery and don't run off the plate.”
> “Selectively breeding hens for high productivity, whether larger eggs or larger numbers of eggs, can cause a range of problems such as osteoporosis, bone breakage and prolapse."

Surprisingly, even Kevin Coles of the British Egg Industry Council admitted that "when it comes to creaminess, consistency and flavour, size really does matter." (Egg-cessive? Large eggs are painful for hens to lay, claim experts. What's more they're less tasty. So should we stop shelling out for them? By MARCUS DUNK, Last updated at 8:17 AM on 12th March 2009, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1161370/Egg-cessive-Large-eggs-painful-hens-lay-claim-experts-Whats-theyre-tasty-So-stop-shelling-them.html#ixzz1Oz4bMOg3)

Here's more:

Which Eggs Taste the Best?
http://shelflifeadvice.com/content/which-eggs-taste-best

"...according the egg guru Moses Wolfe of Petaluma Farms in Petaluma, California.  If you’re looking for eggs with the best taste and the lightest texture, those would be pullet eggs, laid by hens less than 1 year old.
The very best qualities are those laid before the young chick reaches the ripe old age of 31 weeks.  Because the bird is young, the eggs are smaller than those laid by the 1-2 year-olds.  They may be pee wee, small, medium, or large eggs, but not extra-large or jumbo.  These eggs not only taste great but make soufflés rise higher and omelets come out fluffier.  Jumbo eggs are from older hens. These eggs, Wolfe explains, “age more quickly, losing quality, taste, nutritional value and recipe performance."

If I want large eggs I tend to buy duck eggs (or goose eggs, when they're available). Duck eggs are my favorite eggs taste-wise so far, I think, and they are supposedly richer in omega 3 FAs and nutrients than chicken eggs.

[raw-al]

Thanks for the info.

I also counted a couple of half decent puns.

[djr_81]

"...according the egg guru Moses Wolfe of Petaluma Farms in Petaluma, California.  If you’re looking for eggs with the best taste and the lightest texture, those would be pullet eggs, laid by hens less than 1 year old.
The very best qualities are those laid before the young chick reaches the ripe old age of 31 weeks.  Because the bird is young, the eggs are smaller than those laid by the 1-2 year-olds.  They may be pee wee, small, medium, or large eggs, but not extra-large or jumbo.  These eggs not only taste great but make soufflés rise higher and omelets come out fluffier.  Jumbo eggs are from older hens. These eggs, Wolfe explains, “age more quickly, losing quality, taste, nutritional value and recipe performance."

If I want large eggs I tend to buy duck eggs (or goose eggs, when they're available). Duck eggs are my favorite eggs taste-wise so far, I think, and they are supposedly richer in omega 3 FAs and nutrients than chicken eggs.

Pullet eggs have the same amount of yolk but less white. This is why they taste better and work better in dishes you want to rise (like a souffle). Duck eggs are a richer yolk as well. IMO these people are craving easily assimilated sources of animal fats and egg yolks are a great place to get this.

[Sally S.]

I was always told that the jumbo eggs were less yolky.  From what I understand they are produced by chickens bred to lay really big eggs on a consistant basis.  They are prone to many issues such as "egg bound" and prolapse.

I've had pastured chickens and ducks my whole life.  For the last 5 years or so only heritage "dual purpose" breeds, so no "large egg/high production layers".  The only "small pullet eggs" are literally only the first couple that the young hen lays.  I never notice a difference after that, if there is a difference, it must be very subtle.  (Unless they happen to lay the rare double yolked egg, then it is huge.  I get one like that once per 3 months, always from the same hen.)  I have a mix of pullets, middle aged and old hens and ducks.  Their eggs are always consistant in size, from year to year.  My mixed flock is small and everyone lays a different color of egg (chocolate brown, dark brown, light brown, pink, sky blue, olive green and white, so I can keep track.  My ducks are between 9 months -2 years old, their eggs are all the same size.

[PaleoPhil]

Thanks for the info folks. It was tough finding much about it even with the help of the Internet. Dirty little secrets like this one and antineoplastons me wonder how many other negative practices are going on in society that I don't know about.
Makes me wanna