Laura, Your reply is really good; in my opinion should be saved in our files. I added a note what I do for my hatching eggs. I never put unwashed eggs in my frig because of bacteria.
Cathryn rainbowsilkies MI
From: Laura A. Roberts <laura0554@hughes.net>
To: CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Friday, February 24, 2012 9:32 AM
Subject: RE: [CHICKENS-101] Re: Egg consistency? How to adjust?
This brings up some questions for the group:
1. When you collects eggs - do you put them in the fridge or leave at room temp? At room temp how long do they stay fresh?Mine sit on the counter a day or so until I get to them. I believe that eggs under four weeks old are considered fresh as long as refrigerated. Not sure where I got that four week time frame—read it somewhere.
2. Cleaning eggs? I know that washing removes the bloom, and I religiously put down new bedding in the nests, but still...sometimes they are not so clean. Is there a way to clean them? I clean our eggs using the hottest water I can handle. I also put a little bleach in the water. I believe loss of bloom makes a bigger difference if the eggs are expected to keep a long time. Everyone I sell to says theirs are not in the fridge long enough to get old. I like knowing they are clean –many times I have accidently dropped the shell into the bowl with the egg and I don't worry since I know it was washed.
3. When selling eggs, how fresh is considered fresh? I try to sell eggs within three weeks……the older eggs get boiled if not sold. I also will feed my older eggs back to the chickens (scrambled) or to our dogs. (raw)
4. Found eggs, how do you deal with these? We pick up eggs twice a day, but still find "hidden" eggs on occasion. I test them by floating. If they float, they are trashed. I then candle them and make sure no little embryos showing. If not, and they seem fine, I keep them in a container for our personal use. I don't sell eggs that have questionable lay dates or stains I can't remove. I would HATE for one of my customers to crack an egg open and a partially formed embryo be inside.
5. When are eggs old enough that you need to pitch them? I have pitched eggs into the compost pile and buried them when I was sure they were more than 3-4 months old. Like I said, if we have older eggs and plenty of them, they are fed to our animals.
I know that we all have our comfort areas when it comes to fresh eggs. I also wash off the eggs with hot bleach water and a cloth when I am going to incubate them. I figure the less bacteria on the egg, the less the chicks are exposed to in the incubator and we know that with the heat and moisture, bacteria can and will proliferate the incubator if we aren't careful.
FOR INCUBATING, I RINSE CLEAN ROOM TEMPERATURE EGGS IN WARM WATER, DRAIN TO DRY IN A DISINFECTED EGG TRAY FROM THE INCUBATOR AND PUT THEM IN THE SAME DAY. IF I NEED TO STORE MY CLEAN HATCHING EGGS I USE THEM WITHIN A WEEK. EGGS STORED FOR INCUBATING/HATCHING IN A NON FROST FREE FRIG, NEED TO BE KEPT AT 55-56 DEGREES, BROUGHT UP TO ROOM TEMP, THEN PLACED IN THE INCUBATOR. CATHRYN
Our first chicken swap is March 3rd and while I don't have any chicks to sell, I do have Guineas and some chickens, so I may take a threesome or two. March is still early for me and if the weather isn't nice, I won't even bother!
I do plan to hatch some silky eggs for the April swap!
Laura
From: David Sullenberger <David_Sullenberger@msn.com>
To: CHICKENS-101 < CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com >
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2012 7:08 AM
Subject: [CHICKENS-101] Re: Egg consistency? How to adjust?
To: CHICKENS-101 < CHICKENS-101@yahoogroups.com >
Sent: Thursday, February 23, 2012 7:08 AM
Subject: [CHICKENS-101] Re: Egg consistency? How to adjust?
Alan wrote:
"...But these eggs are more difficult. It's harder to remove the egg from the membrane below the shell. Why is that? "
*** 15 ***
HI Alan:
It has to do with the freshness of the egg and the conditions of storage. "Store eggs" are frequently several days from laying to household and they are usually refrigerated especially in the US . Refrigeration dehydrates the shell membrane both causing it to become somewhat "brittle", and pull away from the shell in spots due to shrinkage. Hence making them easier to peel when boiled.
Fresh eggs boiled within a few hours of lay, &/or kept in a humid environment to slow dehydration, are much more difficult to peel.
Enjoy!
Prof
*** 30 ***
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