Free Range Eggs vs Conventional Eggs

Photo courtesy of MyBeautyGym.

What are the differences and benefits of Free-Range eggs over their conventional counterparts? Do they have different nutrient values or benefits over each other?

First, lets define what we mean by "Free Range" and "Conventional."
Free Range eggs come from chickens that are "allowed access to the outdoors," in the words of the USDA guidlines for classifying eggs. Some free range egg farmers take the "allowed" part of that phrase to mean that the chickens have to be on grass as much as they can. Others take that phrase to mean, "providing a way for chickens to go outside." This "provision" to go outdoors could be a door big enough to let all, some, or one of the chickens outside; as you hopefully can see, the phrasing used by the USDA is vague and ambiguous.
Technically speaking, the truest of the true free range eggs would come from chickens that scavenged off the land, roosted in the tree's, and made their nests in the bushes. Well, no chicken farmer can just let their chickens run totally free and wild (if they want to stay in business, that is) because:
(1). Losses due to predators would be too great.
(2). It would require massive amounts of land to sustain enough food for thousands of chickens to live off of.
(3). The chances of finding all the eggs would be impossible, and that loss would be significant.

The ideal situation for both chicken and farmer alike would be to have a complete, supplemental grain feed, along with readily available access to grass, fresh water, and protected and controlled nesting areas. In any free range operation, there are at least a few times where the chickens aren't allowed to go outside due to weather, predators, ect... I personally have to keep my chickens in a few weeks out of the year to let the grass regrow, vacation (their caretakers don't want to be waiting up until sunset everday waiting for them to go back to their barn at night), ect...
All this said, free range eggs are a result of chickens being allowed to eat grass and essentially, play in the dirt. Studies have shown that free range eggs are lower in cholesterol, as well as increased amounts of fatty acids. If you would like to read more about free range egg vs caged egg nutrition, here is a PubMed link. This study shows the differences of fats in both Free range and conventional eggs.

What about caged hens and their eggs? Essentially, the only difference is that caged hens live in a cage, have no access to the outdoors, and recieve only a complete grain feed. By just eating grain, the color of the egg yolk stays at a dull-yellow, to a pale color. Since most commercial feeds consist of essential vitamins and minerals, corn, wheat/barley, and soybean meal, the egg yolk will look dull yellow, or pale. Xanthophills (a yellow pigment in corn, marigold petals) are what makes the yolk yellow; without xanthophills (or limited amounts), the yolk takes on a pale color because there is no pigment to transfer to the yolk. Pale yolks are more common in feeds with higher amounts of wheat, sorghum, barley, and oats. If you've ever seen any of these grains in their raw form, they are somewhat pale in color because they lack xanthophill pigments.

It all comes down to pigments in the feed(s) that the chicken eats. That is why the chlorophyll from plants causes the egg yolk to take on an orange color instead of just "plain old yellow." The color of the yolk can tell you a lot about what the chicken is eating; for example, I usually test a few eggs a week to look for variations in yolk color, as well as overall egg consistency (is the egg firm and tight inside, or is it pale and runny?). By cracking open some eggs, I can get a relatively accurate report on feed intake, as well as if there needs to be more green feed or more pigmentation in their feed.

But, whatever egg you are eating, it is still going to be one of the most versatile foods that you will ever eat!