Egg Mystery/Question?

[duckins]

Well it's day 4 of getting an egg! I got my first ever egg 4 days ago cleaning their lot I found it you would have thought I found money I was so excited! I have in this lot 8 hens 4 white crested they are 3 1/2 mon. 2 buffs and 2 black Swedish that are 4 1/2 mon. Here's the question I feel by the color it's one of the buffs plus makes since their older but its always left in or near the house the crest use I rarely catch my other 4 in that house when they choose they use their house.Here's what's odd keep in mind I've only had hens since October so I'm new to this tue/wed morn small egg each morn laid in same exact spot

thurs morn a little bigger left in same area but in the back of the house. This morn a lot bigger egg in same spot as thurs but almost all the way buried. Here's thurs/fri eggs

btw thurs eggs looks white not much tan. Who's laying and why hiding and why are eggs getting larger. Also I bring them in and refridge right away is this ok?

 

[countrygoddess]

Pullets' eggs start off small because their reproductive systems are new at making eggs. The eggs will quickly get bigger as their systems settle into the job of laying. But also because their systems are new at this job, you may get IMMENSE eggs once in a while (I once got a 4 1/4 oz egg from a girl who had been laying only one week) and you may also get double- and triple-yolkers (that huge egg was a triple). But again, that will all settle out.

Hiding eggs is natural for chickens to do. In nature, when they lay a clutch to incubate, they lay one a day until they've laid as many as they can fit over and then they begin to brood, that is, they sit on them all the time except to get up once a day to poop and eat. When their body warmth and humidity becomes constant, then the chicks begin to develop. So if a girl is laying a clutch out in nature, she has to make sure the nest is well-hidden from predators in between egg lays. It's just instinct. If you don't want your girls to lay wherever they please, then you need to keep them in a house with their nesting box until they decide that's the right and safe place to lay. I even have little fabric curtains over the openings of my boxes because the girls didn't feel they were safe and private enough.

 

[countrygoddess]

Oh, I wanted to comment on the refrigeration question and I forgot. I, myself, do not refrigerate my eggs. Many people don't, but just as many people do. It's just a matter of personal preference. The egg comes out of the pullet/hen with a very thin mucous coating on it called "bloom" which you can see is wet as soon as the egg is laid, but very quickly dries. This coating prevents bacteria from entering the pores in the shell.

If you gather your eggs soon after they're laid, they're more likely to be clean. The longer they languish in the nest, the more they will be trod on with poopy feet. If there is poop on your egg, you're going to have to wash it (I just use warm water and my dishwashing liquid). Once the poop and bloom have been washed off, either put the egg at the front of the line to use or refrigerate it. If it's clean, don't wash it--you want to keep that bloom intact. With the bloom intact, the egg will stay good on the counter for a couple of weeks.

Think of it this way: when the hen lays eggs outside to brood and hatch, they are not refrigerated and sit sometimes upwards of a week or so before she is ready to settle down to incubate them. And yet they develop and hatch just fine because they have not "gone bad" despite sitting out.

 

[duckins]

Thank you for your reply I have a lot to learn considering this is laying duck #1 we have 16 more hens not laying yet nine are still babies. All eggs so for have been clean and I refridge them I wash right before eating.

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

I think you are supposed to wash your eggs before you refrigerate. I personally do not use soap, because of the permeability of the shell, unless the egg is really nasty poopy. I wash with the hottest water I can get from my tap, wipe with paper towel and into cold storage they go. Always wash your hands after handling eggs. But you knew that

Here is what I consider an excellent source on egg handling. http://dnr.alaska.gov/ag/Inspection/LPM00344.pdf

They might be talking about chickens, but that just means you will have to find the huge jumbo egg cartons to store your big old duck eggs!

 

[duckins]

On Saturday I got a super small one none on Sunday 2 larger ones on Monday. Do ducks make a nest for laying reg. eggs cause they have not been bred

 

[HollyDuckFarmer]

On the nest, it depends. At least here. Today I had 2 eggs in 2 nests, perfectly laid and easy to get to. Other times, they seem to be dropped at random, over by the water bucket or wherever. Last week I had one on top of a hay bale. Which is about my shoulder height. I think the miniature eggs sometimes happen in the early days of laying. My Khaki Campbell gave me one last year that was a shooter-marble size.