I will take farm eggs any day over supermarket eggs. We used to have hens. My wife won't allow hens now because they are one more thing to take care of.
A usually metal cone hanging up with the small end down. Place the bird in, head sticks through the hole. Keeps them calmer and from flapping all around after
A lot longer than most people would think. At least 3 weeks unless they're in direct sun in July. Fresh eggs have a coating on them called the "bloom". It seals the egg's pores from bacteria and prevents moisture loss so they stay viable longer if the hen decides to sit. A hen will lay, on average, 1 egg a day. She won't usually park on the eggs permanently until there are 8-10 but she will sit on them off and on until she's happy with the size of the clutch. Right there you have 10 days of no refrigeration and there's nothing wrong with the eggs. We had a pair of bantams that decided to work together a few years ago. Between them they were sitting on 26 eggs at one time. So there's 2 weeks without cold. 21 0f the 26 hatched. The was the largest hatching we ever had. Here are a couple pics. But the point of all this is; if you don't wash the bloom off, fresh eggs will last for weeks or even months. without being chilled. At the height of egg laying we can have upwards of 10 dozen eggs. We never wash them until it's time to use them. We've used eggs that were 3 months old and I'm still here to tell you about it. They will start to lose that nice golden colored yolk but they were fine to eat. If we would put them straight into the fridge I wouldn't be surprised if they kept for 6 months.
Dave… I've ate 987,465,123,000 eggs and I ain't dead yet…. Don't tell any lawyers about this tread or they'll be suing the chickens!
My neighbor raises chickens for a hobby and he gives me eggs. Sme are clean some are dirty. I rinse the dirty ones under the faucet and crack em. So far so good.
UncleJoe, she told me she read somewhere it's best to clean right before eating, so good info there. We just gave a few to her sister. We'll know soon enough. I've had a couple eggs in my life, just not many fresh from the chicken.
EXACTLY! We've had a couple dozen chickens for over 7 years now, no problems. Store at room temp up to a month. In many other countries, eggs are stored on the dry goods shelves at the market, not in the refrigerator. Don't wash or wash right before use if you need/want to.
Good to know! My old timer neighbor at my previous home would bring me a couple dozen at a time. Our life was different then so I didn't hesitate to use them though I knew they were likely a week or two old. Nope, never got sick regardless of how the eggs were cooked. And yes, they were brought to me unwashed
We started keeping chickens in'07 with 6 hens and rooster. We were up to 50 by '10. That summer we were all but cleaned out by a family of fox. We were down to 9-10 till I had the fox family cleaned out. I started going out to the coop before dawn. I sat by a window with 1" web chicken wire; me and my .22 that is.
Thanks for this post. I would like to see if any of my hens will hatch out any eggs and was not real sure how to go about it. I have probably read it somewhere and forgot.
Some of yesterday's eggs and a few of my girls. Only thing I am lacking is snow. We give lots away or some give donations to the hens food.
My two favorite chicken books. Storey's guide to raising chickens. And. Storey's illustrated guide to poultry breeds. Has answered most question I have had.
I got one. Not to sure about that one. I have noticed one or two of them setting before but always took the eggs out. My plan is to let them lay a few and see if they bunch them up like usual. Mark those and go from there.
My best broodies were silkies. Orpinton's close second. Remember they don't care what breed you have so you can place extra eggs.
