California - Northern

[lawatt]

It looks like I will be having a really good hatch....every single egg has pipped. It was getting crowded, so I quickly took out the chicks that had fluffed up and grabbed a bunch of eggs shells out too. Already there are some more zipping, by the time I got back from settling these chicks to the brooder. Lots of girls in this bunch so far

Trisha

WOW, such an impressive photo!! congratulations on so many babies!!

 

[zooweemama]

For those of you that sell eggs for eating, I'm curious if you wash and refrigerate them first. Also, do you ask new customers what their preference is?
I had been carefully washing them for my customer(s) and then once forgot to and popped them right in the carton..........I later explained that they hadn't been washed and my customer said she'd prefer it that way. (And so do I because they are safer with the bloom still on & it is much quicker-hehe) She kind of figured out they were extra fresh when a little feather floated out of the carton.

I sell eggs for eating. I do not wash my chicken eggs. I do wash my duck eggs- they get funky. Ducks have no egg laying manners at all. The males climb into the nest boxes and crap all over, the duck hens go inside and lay their eggs on said poop...lol. As I said- no manners. I try to keep the bedding fresh but those darn males. I build them up for about 2 days then wash and shove in fridge. I only use lightly warm water, wet paper towel and rub the dirty spots, towel dry and pop into fresh clean carton. If I am going to hatch or someone else wants to hatch my duck eggs- I do not wash them.

 

[zooweemama]

Dang Trisha that is one amazing photo!! Holy moly!

 

[chiqita]

Woo Hoo! Just moved the girls out of the house and into the coop! I couldn't take it anymore, so out they go. Yes, I maybe um need to finish some details on the coop, but at least peace has been restored in the house.
Now I guess I get to stay up all night worrying about how they do their first night outside. Eek. Is it wrong to sleep outside next to the coop?

I'm late to the party on reassurance, but those girls look featherd in to me. They will be styling and excited to live in the chicken mansions with exotic perches!

I just got off the phone with James Marie farms. What a knowledgeable guy. He changed my order around completely once I talked to him about what we do and what we want to do. I just followed along, ha!

It is so nice to see people whom still have a passion for what they do even after doing it for 20 years( and people who ship well after doing it for 20 years, bet my eggs will not be stuffed in sawdust but foam shippers!) . He had to warn me his eggs are too big for the little giant rails, lol. I think I got street cred when I told him I had a humidair.

He is sending me something he called snow Manchurians... They are silver breasted gold quail. He says they are still project because the color is only passed on 50%. He is also making the CCL of quails! Won't be around till next year, but I need to get on his waiting list I need autosexing quail!!! ( he produced sexlink quail, that's a start!) I even understood the genetics of what he was doing. And I didn't know flu shots were grown in chicken eggs!

It was so funny, I sounded like a little fan girl when he started talking about what he was doing. I have officially become an egg geek!

NEED MORE PENS!

 

[CALI CHICK]

I sell eggs for eating. I do not wash my chicken eggs. I do wash my duck eggs- they get funky. Ducks have no egg laying manners at all. The males climb into the nest boxes and crap all over, the duck hens go inside and lay their eggs on said poop...lol. As I said- no manners. I try to keep the bedding fresh but those darn males. I build them up for about 2 days then wash and shove in fridge. I only use lightly warm water, wet paper towel and rub the dirty spots, towel dry and pop into fresh clean carton. If I am going to hatch or someone else wants to hatch my duck eggs- I do not wash them.

I can totally picture the duck nesting boxes-LOL

 

[CALI CHICK]

My neighbor lady really wants to buy white Polish chicks or chickens. Do any of you NorCal peeps breed and sell white ones?

 

[chiqita]

I sell eggs for eating. I do not wash my chicken eggs. I do wash my duck eggs- they get funky. Ducks have no egg laying manners at all. The males climb into the nest boxes and crap all over, the duck hens go inside and lay their eggs on said poop...lol. As I said- no manners. I try to keep the bedding fresh but those darn males. I build them up for about 2 days then wash and shove in fridge. I only use lightly warm water, wet paper towel and rub the dirty spots, towel dry and pop into fresh clean carton. If I am going to hatch or someone else wants to hatch my duck eggs- I do not wash them.

I'm still SHOCKED they lay in boxes. mine Khakis just let it out where they may be standing. But she layed every 27 hrs, so most days i could do out and eyeball where she was and go get my eggs. She layed in the fountain too.. one time we cleaned it and there were like 9 eggs in there.... it was like they had been in the fridge!

 

[chiqita]

My neighbor lady really wants to buy white Polish chicks or chickens. Do any of you NorCal peeps breed and sell white ones?

I have one splash chick. Thats all I can offer

 

[zooweemama]

I'm still SHOCKED they lay in boxes. mine  Khakis just let it out where they may be standing.  But she layed every 27 hrs, so most days  i could do out and eyeball where she was and go get my eggs.  She layed in the fountain too.. one time we cleaned it and there were like 9 eggs in there....  it was like they had been in the fridge!

We have a pond and they were laying on it. We were feeding ducks we couldn't get eggs from. I locked them in their coop for 2-3 days with food and water. After that they started laying in their boxes. We let them out at 10am. Of my 11 layers - we will get between 8-11 eggs a day in the lay boxes. I've been known to so spot checks too. Feel they pelvis and if I feel an egg- that hen stays in the coop until she lays her egg. I don't have that happen often though.

 

[ChickNmamma]

For those of you that sell eggs for eating, I'm curious if you wash and refrigerate them first. Also, do you ask new customers what their preference is?
I had been carefully washing them for my customer(s) and then once forgot to and popped them right in the carton..........I later explained that they hadn't been washed and my customer said she'd prefer it that way. (And so do I because they are safer with the bloom still on & it is much quicker-hehe) She kind of figured out they were extra fresh when a little feather floated out of the carton.

I wonder what other ppl do too. I wash mine before I sell them. Mine that I keep I just leave out in a basket and use them as I need them. I don't think many of the ppl I sell to realize even what a bloom is

but curious what others do

I do not wash eggs I sell, but I don't sell eggs which are very dirty. I can usually flick off any dirt with a fingernail, or use a dry paper towel. I do not refrigerate, either. I do not ask my customers - I don't have very many - their preference. I do explain why they aren't washed.

One customer looked at me kinda funny and replied "Well, I don't eat the SHELLS."

Quote: I do not wash my eggs. Only really had one or two people complain about them being dirty (winter and muddy feet make muddy eggs). I told them not to wash the eggs until they are ready to use them. I washed dirty eggs one time, put them in the fridge and they deteriorated pretty quickly. Not washing seems to keep them fresher longer, even in the fridge.

I had some 9 month old eggs I tested over two years ago.. and they were still good. The ones that were dirty weren't.. but the ones that were naturally clean were fine for cooking... I was amazed (opened them in bags because they passed the candling test)... I was curious what they would look like inside. The white was very thick, the yolk looked fine.. I ate one and it was rubbery but I used the rest for a cake and it was fine. The girls were on strike...

Woo Hoo! Just moved the girls out of the house and into the coop! I couldn't take it anymore, so out they go. Yes, I maybe um need to finish some details on the coop, but at least peace has been restored in the house.
Now I guess I get to stay up all night worrying about how they do their first night outside. Eek. Is it wrong to sleep outside next to the coop?

Take a screen tent and a sleeping bag, the skeeters are out!..

Looks very nice.. and they look happy in there!