Egg dating?

[gratefulchick]

Sorry if this has been asked and answered. I searched and couldn't find it. I have 13 chickens and only get about 5-6 eggs per day but would like to keep track of what's laid when. I read about the laser deal but that doesn't seem feasible for my small scale. I was numbering egg cartons so I knew which were the newest. This is small scale so I don't fill a carton a day to date that carton. I also don't want to write on them for future sale reasons. Hope this makes sense. PS-So grateful for this website. I can't tell you how many times I've had a question and log in to find someone else had the same one! Thanks!

 

[Mrs.Puff]

I write on my eggs with no problems in selling. Some people like to see the date. You can also get a little stamp, like what librarians used to have. In europe, many eggs are dated.

 

[gratefulchick]

Thank you-that would probably be the easiest. Is there anything I should NOT write on them with?

 

[eschwaderer]

The ink used (in the EU) doesn't penetrate the shell.

 

[krcote]

Sharpie marker or anything with chemicals

 

[bigredfeather]

I use a mechanical lead pencil to mark the day of the month on them. We have never had any eggs over a month old, so duplicate numbers has never been a problem. The people that buy my eggs like to see the date right on the eggs.

 

[SussexInSeattle]

I was the same way as you, wanted to keep track. I finally went to my local Staples and found a small pack of white sheets of stick on price tags, about the size of a dime each or possibly smaller. I write the date on the tag with a Sharpie or a regular pen, then I put an arrow either to the right or straight down. Then I load the eggs in the carton from left to right and just use one little price tag per clutch of eggs.

I can not remember what the price of the blister pack was but there are lots of sheets with tons of sticky price tags on each sheet. I know the pack was under ten bucks and I LOVE to open a carton and see each days' progress. Actually, I collect my eggs into an 18 pack carton so I can either load three eggs down or six eggs across. I always load the eggs in the order we read, from top to bottom or left to right.

 

[gratefulchick]

Thanks SIS-I went to Staples yesterday. I work at an inn and asked the chef to save the big egg flats (hold about 3 dozen) for me so I can put my dated eggs in there and use the cartons for sales. It will be nice to see progress. I tend to get a little picky-thanks for all the suggestions!