Can I keep my roosters and still sell eggs for consumption?

[morganel]

We ended up with two roosters and they are getting busy with the hens. I have seen some fertilized eggs and one of my customers called and said that some of the eggs she bought were strange. This makes me very uncomfortable. The roosters are beautiful and I love listening to them. Do I have to get rid of my roosters or are there ways to make sure that the fertilized eggs don't progress beyond the very early stage - so they still look like normal eggs. We don't wash the eggs and they sit on the counter until we sell them. This has always worked before because we sell them so quickly. Does getting them in the fridge right away to stop the process?

 

[thechickenchick]

Unless its 95 degrees on your kitchen counter and your eggs are gathered every day, they should be fine. If you live in a very warm climate you may need to refrigerate them.

 

[scooter147]

The roosters should have nothing to do with "strange" eggs.
The fact that they are fertilized should be completely unnoticable unless they are incubated.
Blood spots are possible in an egg put fertilization has nothing to do with it, it's normal. Store eggs are checked before packaging and used for in prepackaged foods not sold as eggs.

 

[gritsar]

Your customer probably knows you have a roo and so got it into her head that there would be something "different" about them. All my eggs are fertile and my customers know it and don't have a problem with it. Some folks actually prefer fertile eggs.

 

[morganel]

Thank you so much. That makes me a feel a ton better.

 

[TriciaHowe]

Gosh I hate to think people are that weird (talking about your customer - not you!). I eat my fertile chicken, duck and guinea eggs all the time. Never had a problem

 

[citygirl]

We also eat and sell our fertilized eggs. We do, however, refrigerate them after collection each day. It works for us.

 

[ranchhand]

You might ask what was "strange" about them- many people have never had real, farm-fresh eggs, and they are different from store eggs.

The yolks are usually yellower, even into orange, and the whites don't flow out all over the pan like an older egg. They do taste different, too. Much richer flavor.

I sell eggs, but I refrigerate them right away, and I deliver them in a cooler with frozen gel-packs.