Egg questions

[herbmom]

We let our chicks roam our back yard during the day. Problem is recently we aren't getting as many eggs. We found where the Easter Eggers have been laying and gather them daily but we've been off on eggs. Should get 6 a day from various chickens. We've hunted our yard several times but today I kept getting a feeling to check a shelf unit that we store hay in and cover with a tarp. Sure enough I found 14 eggs. Problem is I don't know how old they are. I'm guessing a week? Maybe 2 at the most.

This area is in a very shady part that I don't think gets any sun at all so they would have been kept cooler than other areas.

How long are eggs good for. In the past I found some in such an odd place that I couldn't even reach them and it had been hot so I broke them open and buried them with leaves. They never smelled. I'm actually going to clear out this shelf area and let them make a proper nest in there.

We have one broody hen that sits all day but there is an empty nest next to her that none of them will use.

What are your thoughts? I'm new at this. We just got these last year near the end of season for stores to carry chicks. They started laying about Easter time. We had to put pingpong balls in the nest to get them to lay in there.

Do you think these eggs are okay? Is there away to check? Thank you so much.

Also what is the best way to store eggs. I've heard unwashed in fridge and now I'm hearing unwashed non refridgerated.

 

[ChicKat]

Fridge or non-fridge can be a personal choice. In the UK, they don't refrigerate eggs, but rather keep them on the counter, and a lot of USA folks do the same. Refrigeration extends the life of the egg...so your own personal use rates would be a factor. Of course if the temperature in your kitchen resembled the temperature in the kitchen here in the ranch house..... well - modern conveniences have their place.

The egg test is a bowl of water. IF the egg sinks to the bottom and lays flat it is good. IF the egg tips up it is older --- if the egg floats it is really bad. :O) HTH

 

[herbmom]

Thank you so much. We just did this. One out of the 14 floated. When I shook it you could hear something in it. When I broke it open you could tell it was bad. 2 others tipped and the rest sunk. We'll be making lots of french toast.

 

[ChicKat]

That is so neat to know!

Especially about the floater...I was reading in a chicken book yesterday and came across the specifics on that ---and the floaters are really really bad....and something one would NOT want to smell according to their info. lol

 

[Mrs. K]

When I was a child, it was a common practice to crack eggs into a small dish, and then add the egg to your baked goods. That was to keep egg shells out, and in case the egg was bad, not to ruin your whole cake.

I would use those older eggs in baking, they should be fine for that.

Might look up a recipe for a chiffon or sponge cake, they take a sinful amount of eggs! But ohhhh such a treat!

 

[bobbi-j]

When I was a child, it was a common practice to crack eggs into a small dish, and then add the egg to your baked goods. I still do this. There have been a couple of times that I was very glad I did...That was to keep egg shells out, and in case the egg was bad, not to ruin your whole cake.

I would use those older eggs in baking, they should be fine for that.

Might look up a recipe for a chiffon or sponge cake, they take a sinful amount of eggs! But ohhhh such a treat! I just made two homemade angelfood cakes Friday out of two dozen older eggs. They take alot of egg whites. The yolks could be used for a sponge cake. I've done that in the past. This time, though, I cooked them up and fed them to the cockerels in my grow-out pen.

 

[Blarneyeggs]

We take any old eggs 'found' and toss them back to the chicks. We've always got a broody or some babies that can use the protein.

 

[herbmom]

I would be afraid of feeding my chickens raw eggs. I had a chicken farmer tell me that when his chickens got the taste of raw eggs they started eating their own.