Coops Coop

[The Coop Crew]

And last but not least, some updated pictures of Sophia and Rose

 

[The Coop Crew]

Hi guys!!! It’s been awhile!
We moved our coop into the garage for the winter to keep the girls warm and out of the elements as much as possible. We got some snow last week and they refused to go out in it (spoiled much?) I even threw their favorite treat out to see if they would go get them and this is the look I got

 

[The Coop Crew]

Our elf visited the chickens before she left

 

[The Coop Crew]

BYC calendar hung up and ready to use

 

[The Coop Crew]

Window sill collection

 

[The Coop Crew]

Hi guys!
I’ve been absent lately.
Working full time, deciding to go back to school, and two kids keep me busy to say the least
I’m still here though! My hens will be a year old in a couple weeks, so crazy!
Here’s Rose taking a dust bath yesterday

 

[thistlewick]

Window sill collection

Why do you wash your eggs? Do they come out awfully poopy or something?

Just curious - eggs do not need to be washed.

Our factory farms wash the eggs because they are filthy and salmonella is rampant -- but they don't use water, they use chemicals that don't leach through the shell. (source: USDA.gov website)

Shells are porous; chickens lay a protective barrier over their eggs when they are laid called the bloom (or cuticle) that actually protects the porous shell from letting any bacteria into the egg.

If you leave them alone, and your chickens lay clean eggs (if they are dirty when you collect, it's not really your chickens -- it's the nests -- clean the nests for clean eggs) you can leave an egg on your kitchen counter, without refrigeration, for 4 months. Nature is amazing!

 

[The Coop Crew]

Why do you wash your eggs? Do they come out awfully poopy or something?

Just curious - eggs do not need to be washed.

Our factory farms wash the eggs because they are filthy and salmonella is rampant -- but they don't use water, they use chemicals that don't leach through the shell. (source: USDA.gov website)

Shells are porous; chickens lay a protective barrier over their eggs when they are laid called the bloom (or cuticle) that actually protects the porous shell from letting any bacteria into the egg.

If you leave them alone, and your chickens lay clean eggs (if they are dirty when you collect, it's not really your chickens -- it's the nests -- clean the nests for clean eggs) you can leave an egg on your kitchen counter, without refrigeration, for 4 months. Nature is amazing!

When the window sill gets full I wash them to put them in the fridge. They sit out for a quite a while before I wash them. I also sell them and some of the buyers want them to be washed so that’s another reason.
I didn’t realize that they could be out for 4 months though! I thought it was only a couple of weeks so thank you for that information

 

[thistlewick]

When the window sill gets full I wash them to put them in the fridge. They sit out for a quite a while before I wash them. I also sell them and some of the buyers want them to be washed so that’s another reason.
I didn’t realize that they could be out for 4 months though! I thought it was only a couple of weeks so thank you for that information

I'd tell your buyers they don't need to be washed lol they are actually making them vulnerable to bacteria by wanting them to be washed.

people are...

And sure thing. If you pack them in lime, they can last shelf stable for a year. The bloom is a miraculous thing. Millions of years of evolution can't be wrong

 

[fuzzi]

I'd tell your buyers they don't need to be washed lol they are actually making them vulnerable to bacteria by wanting them to be washed.

people are...

And sure thing. If you pack them in lime, they can last shelf stable for a year. The bloom is a miraculous thing. Millions of years of evolution can't be wrong

You can leave fertilized eggs on the countertop, too. They won't start to develop until they get heat from a broody. Amazing.