Egg Handling

[Newchickenmom&kids]

I wasn't sure where to put this question....I can't find anywhere where it talks about collecting eggs! Is there a certain time that is best?? Might just depend on the idividual bird....and also...I don't want to put us at risk for sickness...what is the appropriate way to handle eggs?? What if a hen lays an egg in the morning and it's 100degrees and I don't get it until evening?? Will it be bad?? Is there a time frame that the egg is no longer edible?? Iguess you just pop them right in the fridge after washing?? Again preparing for later---chicks too young right now!

 

[chickenboy]

It's okay if you can't get it until eveing. By the time you eat an egg from the store it's atleast 2-3 weeks old. No need to worry.

 

[Newchickenmom&kids]

But I'm referring to refridgeration. The ones at the store are of course refrigerated...not just sitting on a shelf! How long can they go unrefrigerated??

 

[chickflick]

I read in this site at one time that in Sweden, they have the eggs on the shelves in the grocery stores. So.... I don't think they go bad that quickly!! My hens lay at different times, so I go out often and check. If you work, then you just check them when you get home.....don't fret, they'll be fine.

 

[blue90292]

i leave my eggs sitting in a bowl on my counter. they only last about a week anyway around my house before they're eaten.

my boss' is european so he also just lets it sit without refrigeration.

if you're worried about the egg being bad, i'd just boil it and feed it back to the chickens crumbled.

(i'm sitting here re-reading that last statement, i hope it came out right, i mean, if you think it's really really bad, then throw it away.) sometimes i have too many eggs, so i take the oldest ones and boil them and feed it back to my chickens, shell and all.

i do refrigerate my eggs if they're over a week old. i think from habit and i also eat my eggs raw over rice.

that really didn't answer your question did it. LOL sorry.

 

[keljonma]

I found this on another board.... cute but true.

Can you eat that egg?

If not sure you ought-ter
then place it in water.
If it lies on its side,
then it's fresh, eat with pride.

After three or four days
at an angle it lays
But, it still is a treat
so go on and eat.

Ten days, stands on end
in your baking 'twill blend
'Cause it's definitely edible
in your baking, incredible.

But, if it floats on the surface
that egg serves no purpose
'Cause a floater's a stinker !
Out the back door best fling 'er.

 

[keljonma]

I think only in the U.S. (maybe in large cities of Canada?) do we think of refrigerators as an appliance that should/could hold a month's worth of food.

I don't think most Americans started refrigerating eggs until appliance manufacturers started installing those little egg slots. All those wire basket shaped like hens were used for egg storage. My paternal grandmother kept them in an old bowl on the counter near the stove.

I have relatives that live in the UK and Europe that shop every day or two. Their refrigerators are what we would think of for use in a college dorm or rec room. They never refrigerate their eggs. And live to tell the tale!

In Ohio, because I want to sell eggs to the public (off my farm), I MUST refrigerate/keep my flock's eggs at 40-45°F. So I refrigerate them.

How often we collect eggs depends on the day and if we are home. Because I'm currently unemployed off the farm, I collect eggs 3 times a day minimum. Personally I think if a person uses common sense they'll be fine.

Some people collect eggs twice a day to prevent breakage and possible egg eating.

Enjoy them! Even if the egg is in the nest all day, it will still be 100 times fresher than those gross eggs at the store!

 

[CashmereSussex]

eggs are on the shelves in Australia too i refuse to it caged bird eggs i only eat the free range that come from my coop

 

[allen wranch]

If possible, try to gather eggs a couple of time a day in 100° heat .