Turkey eggs - how long can they be on the counter?

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TammyP

TammyP

Songster
10 Years
Oct 2, 2009
130
6
146
SW Wisconsin
Hi. My turkey hens have been laying for about a month now. I seem to get about 3 eggs a day from my 6 gals..... just wondering how long I can keep them on the counter in a basket before they go bad?
I used to refrigerate all my eggs right away until I read on here that if you don't wash them then the eggs can stay on the counter for at least 3 weeks.... is that correct? I have chickens and turkeys and some guineas.
Also, if I've kept them on the counter for a couple of weeks.....(approx 70 degrees in the house), is it possible to put them under a broody chicken and expect poults out of the eggs?
So new to this that I have no clue.
I have about 60 chickens and get almost 2 dozen eggs daily at this point....I don't have the refrig space and thus the counter idea in baskets until I can get them to whomever needs them.
I hope this is safe....
Thanks for any input.
 
Check your state laws... a lot of states have it written that they must be refrigerated immediately if you are selling them. For personal use, I leave them out. You can do a float test to check them - the fresher they are the flatter they lay in the water. As they get older, the large end starts lifting up (because the air cell is growing).

Most folks don't incubate eggs older than 2 weeks, but you can try. Just be careful that there is no way for those eggs to get mixed up with the fresh eggs. Many years ago when I was new to chickens, I decided to let a hen sit on some eggs. One must have got kicked out from under her and ended up in with the fresh eggs. We were driving out to the in-laws place (about an 8 hour drive) and took eggs with us. I'm just glad it was my husband and not the MIL that cracked the egg and had a half formed chick come out.
 
Are you wanting them for hatching or breeding? For eating, I would put them in the fridge right away. For hatching, I keep turkey eggs for a week and set every Thursday in the breeding season. Turkey eggs are not as hardy as chicken eggs and hatchability starts to drop faster after a week. Be sure to turn them or tilt them a couple times a day while in storage if you plan to hatch them. A little cooler temp would also help. If you have a room , closet or basement that is colder than 70 that would also be better. The closer to 50 degs you can have them then the better. I keep all my eggs in a room that stays about 65 for a week and have great hatches.
 
Thank you for the info.

My turkeys are laying regularly and I just don't know what to do with the eggs. Guess I should have thought about that end of things instead of just raising them for meat birds huh?

Such a learning experience this is turning out to be.
 
ColbyNTX said:
Are you wanting them for hatching or breeding?  For eating, I would put them in the fridge right away.  For hatching, I keep turkey eggs for a week and set every Thursday in the breeding season.  Turkey eggs are not as hardy as chicken eggs and hatchability starts to drop faster after a week.  Be sure to turn them or tilt them a couple times a day while in storage if you plan to hatch them.  A little cooler temp would also help.  If you have a room , closet or basement that is colder than 70 that would also be better.  The closer to 50 degs you can have them then the better.  I keep all my eggs in a room that stays about 65 for a week and have great hatches.
Click to expand...


Great info. :thumbsup
 

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