Egg questions galore

[ChickenMama18]

Our chickens are finally laying! Yipiee! But now questions abound and hubby and I are unsure of the answers.

1) Should we wash the eggs?
2) How long can we keep them in the fridge before they spoil?
3) If we didn't check for eggs every day, would the eggs still be good to eat if they were in the coop for a few days? Does the outside temperature make a difference here?

Thanks so much! We are excited to finally have our own eggs! It's a family affair to go out and check every day!

 

[Cindiloohoo]

1) I don't.
2)2 weeks here for us.
3) I check daily. If they stay in extreme warm or cool weather for more than 2 days, I feed them to the animals. Otherwise i check them over for cracks etc. and use them if they appear fine.

 

[joedie]

I don't wash the eggs unless they have poop on them. The bloom left intact will keep them longer. They will be okay for several weeks. If unsure, put them in a pan of water. If they float, don't eat them. It depends on the weather, if really hot, you'll want to make sure you collect them daily. If it's really cold they can crack and the whites will leak out and freeze.

 

[Dragonfly Ranch]

Quote:
You will get more answers and I don't claim to be an expert but here is what I know

1) It is not necessary to wash the eggs - if you do you wash off the "bloom" which is coating that helps to keep out bacteria. However, I wash the eggs of there is any dirt or poo on them - personal preference.

2) They will stay in the frig for up to three weeks - also it is not necessary to keep them in the frig and they will last on the court for up to 2 weeks

3) Yes, the eggs would still be good and you could eat them. Logic would tell me that if it is hot outside its better to collect more often. We collect in the morning when we let them out and at night when we put them away and have had no problems.

Hope that helps and

to BYC

Sandee

 

[danielle82]

I only rinse the eggs just prior to cracking them open, and I heard that you don't want to use water thats warmer than the egg, so I just give a quick rinse under cool water. When the chicken lays the egg there is a protective coating on it called 'bloom' that its better to leave that there.

 

[ChickenMama18]

Thank you! That helps a lot!

 

[greyhorsewoman]

I heard that you don't want to use water thats warmer than the egg

Exactly the opposite. You should wash any dirty eggs with warm water. However, if you are washing right before eating, it doesn't matter.

We are a 'waste not, want not' family. We eat as many of our eggs as possible. When we aren't sure of an egg, we break it into a little cup first ... looks good, eat it. We find nests of eggs in our barn on a regular basis that are probably days to weeks old. Normally, about 90% are still good. (I never sell those eggs, but we sort through them for ourselves.) Old eggs get fed back to the dogs. Eggshells, etc. get fed back to the chickens.​

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Exactly the opposite. You should wash any dirty eggs with warm water. However, if you are washing right before eating, it doesn't matter.

We are a 'waste not, want not' family. We eat as many of our eggs as possible. When we aren't sure of an egg, we break it into a little cup first ... looks good, eat it. We find nests of eggs in our barn on a regular basis that are probably days to weeks old. Normally, about 90% are still good. (I never sell those eggs, but we sort through them for ourselves.) Old eggs get fed back to the dogs. Eggshells, etc. get fed back to the chickens.

Yep, use water at least 20 degrees warmer than the egg.
Eggs with the bloom intact can last for months, not days or weeks. Supermarket eggs can be somewhere around 6 weeks old and still sold.
Here's an interesting article from Mother Earth News on storing eggs and how long they are good for:

http://www.motherearthnews.com/Sustainable-Farming/1977-11-01/Fresh-Eggs.aspx

 

[joedie]

Very interesting artical Gritsar!

 

[ghulst]

Eggs will last in refig up to 8 weeks.