A sign off the side of the road caught my eye.

“Chicken Eggs $3 a dozen – Duck Eggs $5.”

I was out of eggs, so what the heck…

Several chickens scattered as I drove up to a metal gate that separated a parking area from a house, barn, paddock, and outdoor arena. As no one emerged to greet me, I honked the horn to announce my presence.

That prompted a 60-ish woman to emerge – along with five barking dogs – from the barn.

“Do you have any duck eggs?” I shouted over the canine din.

“I’m not sure,” she said. “Let me check… How many do you want?”

“I’ll take a dozen if you have them.”

I was curious about duck eggs, as – believe it or not – I’ve never eaten any.

I’ve read that they’re way more nutritious than chicken eggs, mainly because they’re much larger.

Guess which egg came from a duck?

For example, each one contains about 9 grams of protein versus the 6 grams you typically find in a large chicken egg.

Both varieties offer a wide spectrum of minerals, including calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus, selenium, zinc, copper, sodium, potassium, and manganese.

It’s the same with vitamins, as both contain choline, folate, riboflavin, thiamine, niacin, vitamins A, B6, B12, D, E, K, and pantothenic acid.

Duck eggs, however, are much higher in vitamins D, E, and omega-3 fatty acids than chicken eggs (71.4 mg of omega-3s versus 37 mg, according to Grubbly Farms, a company that sells feed to chicken farmers).

Coupled with a higher protein profile, all that makes them a healthier choice in many people’s eyes.

That’s especially true of chicken eggs you buy at the store.

For starters, store-bought chicken eggs are often two weeks old by the time they hit the dairy case.

Worse, most commercial chicken eggs come from chickens laced with antibiotics and confined to cages.

Then there’s the fact that many high-priced store eggs – even those labeled “organic” – are derived from chickens fed a pure vegetarian diet, which isn’t good IMO because chickens are omnivores, not vegetarians.

As a result, they don’t have as much omega-3 fatty acids as eggs from pastured chickens do.

Bottom line - if you’re gonna eat store-bought eggs, make sure they’re certified as coming from pastured chickens, which are allowed to roam freely and eat insects, worms, and other natural sources of animal protein.

Better yet, get your pastured eggs from a local who raises chickens, as they’ll likely cost you far less – and be much fresher – than those you’ll find at the store ($3 to $5 a dozen versus $9 where I live).

If you’re lucky, your local chicken farmer may also have ducks, which means you might be able to get duck eggs.

“They have a gamey taste that some people don’t like,” my duck egg provider said, “but they’re really good for baking - that’s what I use them for.”

She added that’s because duck eggs give you fluffier breads, cakes, and cookies due to their higher protein and fat content.

Since I’m not much of a baker, my first foray into the world of duck eggs will be to scramble them with some onions and cheddar cheese first thing tomorrow morning.

I’ll let you know how it all turns out.

Transforming breakfast in America,

Doug Fogel, Publisher, Natural Wealth, Natural Health