Dirty Eggs for Sale!?

[fratmor]

I was wondering about those of you that have a run attached to your coop, what do you keep on the floor of your run? I had some grass but they ate every bit of it and they love digging so there will no longer be grass there. I now have straw on the floor of the run. Is anyone else doing that ?and if so how do you keep it clean .It always seems to be wet from the rain and poopy from them.

 

[ZooMummzy]

Mine is dirt with bark on top. My neighbor cut down about 10 trees this summer so we got lots of free bark. Last year it was just mud and I swore I would never go through that again! This year, just soggy

 

[BethieofVA]

Quote:
Mine it is grass and some dirt. I am sure it will be all dirt, soon, but half of my run is covered, so no rain. It helps alot with the muck and the chickens prefer to hang out under there.

 

[Beekissed]

I'm wondering if you couldn't glean some corn stalks from somewhere to put down in your run. The stalks are hollow and would make good material to walk upon, as well as harbor bugs that the girls could hunt for this winter. Even if they got wet the birds still wouldn't be walking in mud...just keep adding more dry stalks. They would be easy to pitchfork out of there in the spring and put on your compost pile.

They wouldn't get any more moldy and wet than any other bedding material such as hay, straw or shavings. By being hollow and strong, they won't get compressed like the other types of bedding.

 

[Mrs. K]

I use hay and I keep a pitch fork there, and I just stir it up, pile it up, and the girls tear it apart again. After a couple of months, it is getting kind of ragged, and perfect for the compost pile, (not do not put this too close to your coop, cause it is a bit stinky) and then I add fresh. However, I really do not have real mud, as we are so sandy soiled. Even with the straw/hay in there, mine always have a bare spot, that they can get grit and dig and dust in.

I do have some corn stalks, and will give them a try. mk

 

[fratmor]

thanks for your answers .now I'm going to ask the question of at what age will a rooster crow?

 

[ZooMummzy]

In my personal experience, anywhere from 1 month to 8 months!

 

[fratmor]

that is some span

 

[Mac in Wisco]

I'll tell y'all what... I just try to present the facts here.

Personally, I wash dirty eggs, don't worry too much about the non-dirty ones and put them all in the fridge. I do keep rodents and flies under control and sanitize things as I feel necessary. I don't fret about it, but I do follow standard food safety practices.

But... I would never tell people: "Don't worry about salmonella". "You don't have a commercial flock so you're safe". "That which doesn't kill you makes you stronger". "Eggs have a bloom that protects them from such things". "It's completely safe for you to keep eggs on the counter". "You can't do anything about it anyways".

Salmonella Enteritidis and other food-borne bacteria are real. You and your family may have healthy immune systems and have no problems with the worst of food. Not everybody is as immune; not every one of the people you are giving advice to, nor the people who may be buying your eggs.

I watched the congressional sub-committee hearing following the salmonella outbreak this summer. The one thing that struck me was one committee member's comment that the public perception of this outbreak was that it just caused a mild case of food poisoning that would pass in a day or two. Not so. Many of the people that were affected were hospitalized for weeks with life threatening illness that left long term damage to their bodies. All from eating an egg. Granted, the outbreak had everything to do with commercial production practices, but as I tried to point out before, eggs from backyard flocks can be every bit as susceptible to contamination.

So, worry about it... don't worry about it... I don't care, but some of the advice given here to others doesn't present the whole story.

 

[kdmburnett]

i find dirty eggs directly correspond to mud in the pen...go figure! i keep the dirty ones, and if they are especially bad, i wash in cold water with veggie wash and refrigerate right away.