Egg storage

[bworch]

are they for hatching or eating

How long would you keep fertilized eggs, and how would you store them.

 

[CarolinaHen]

How long would you keep fertilized eggs, and how would you store them.

I don't incubate eggs that are more than 10 or so days old. Viability and hatchability decreases after that. I keep them in an egg carton, small end down, and tilt the carton a couple times a day.
For eating, we keep them for a month. We eat fertilized eggs all the time.

 

[AoNxTrYhArD]

Could you keep the holder in the refrigerator? Thanks,

 

[gatorshark75]

How long would you keep fertilized eggs, and how would you store them.

i keep my hatching eggs no longer than 5 days before putting in the incubator and as far as fertilized eggs for eating i generally put them in the fridge the same day

 

[RoarkFarm]

Our local co-op had styro's for .35. (bradley county, Tennessee)

 

[Brookliner]

Our eggs (bantam) go from the coop to the fridge. We never seem to have that many perhaps the most would be 4 dozen before we either eat them or our neighbors do. But then we use 2 for every LF egg. We don't wash them until we use them.

 

[Phoenixxx]

Fantastic article! I wash mine with water, but I sell eggs to "city folk", they wouldn't understand why the eggs are dirty...

Whenever I have extra eggs to give away or sell, I just explain that "I don't wash them because the chickens put a protective anti-bacterial layer on the shell when they lay them. If any are dirty, wash them right when you're about to cook them." Makes some people go nature does those kinds of things? Of course at which point I say, "yup! Pretty cool, huh?" And then after a moment of thought, they totally understand and don't care anymore that one in the carton is a bit poopy

 

[CarolinaHen]

Could you keep the holder in the refrigerator? Thanks,

You shouldn't refrigerate eggs prior to incubation.

 

[GAFarmGirl87]

Whenever I have extra eggs to give away or sell, I just explain that "I don't wash them because the chickens put a protective anti-bacterial layer on the shell when they lay them. If any are dirty, wash them right when you're about to cook them." Makes some people go nature does those kinds of things? Of course at which point I say, "yup! Pretty cool, huh?" And then after a moment of thought, they totally understand and don't care anymore that one in the carton is a bit poopy

Lol! That's a good idea

 

[bruceha2000]

Quote:

http://www.mannapro.com/products/poultry/the-egg-skelter/

I love mine,

I sent them an email asking how they work with small eggs, got no reply. Thanks for the picture. The second from the bottom looks about the size of the small eggs I get so I guess it works fine for them. Of course I'm not so sure how long the eggs would be in the device with cats in the house. My guess is I would have a lot of broken eggs on the floor. "Maybe THIS ball will bounce!" "Nope, maybe THIS one! Nope."

For a newbie that has just got my first hens, about 3wks old, this has been informative and entertaining.... Having said that, I had a sister almost die from samonella poisning when we where very young(most likely spoiled meat) so I am somewhat over leary if you will.

AFter reading the thread I have gathered that not washing is best for long term storage, fridged or not. I plan to cold store as I have a spare that is not in use and the $15 bucks a month to run it is good peace of mind for me. But help me understand this..... I would think that washing just prior to usage would be a must as the cold storage does not necessarily kill the virus, correct? After all, the egg travels the same path as excrement....

Another thought that I would like some input on: I had someone tell me that you can rub the outside of egg with mineral oil and it will prolong shelf life, any truth to that?

If I get a poopy egg, I wash it with water (a little dish soap if REALLY bad), mark it as washed and it gets eaten first. If there is just a little "dirt", I leave it. My customers know I do not usually wash so if they get one marked "washed" they can also chose to use it first. Generally speaking, my customers get eggs that are no more than 2 or 3 days old depending on how long it takes to get a dozen to sell. I keep the really small and really large (carton won't close on these anyway) eggs and the ones that needs REAL washing.

1) The egg follows PART of the same path but they "prolapse" through that area when the egg is laid. If there is chicken poop on the egg it got there either from the feathers, feet or nest, NOT the internal "laying path".
2) Even freezing it will not kill the salmonella bacteria. The reason store eggs have to be refrigerated is because they were mandated to be washed with chemicals that remove the natural protection that keeps everything out of the egg. I put the eggs in the refrigerator mostly because it is convenient and the cats can't get to them. I do not wash the eggs right before I use them. If they were clean enough to put in the refrigerator, they are fine. That said, you aren't doing any harm washing them just before use, go for it if doing so eases your mind.
3) Mineral oil definitely not needed in most circumstances. I have read that long distance cruising sailors will buy FRESH eggs from a farm, coat with oil or petroleum jelly, store them in the bilge (where it is cooler) and turn them daily. The eggs are stored at generally 50 - 75F (sea water temp) and keep for many weeks. Do that to a washed and refrigerated store bought egg and it won't last long.

Just to assure everyone as to the general storage period:
1) Look at a carton in the store.:
a) You have NO idea when the eggs were laid, but probably in the last few days in a store with good turn over.
b) The "use by" date will be at least a month and a half out out. So eggs that have been compromised are good for at least a month and a half refrigerated and given the litigious nature of our country, that 1.5 months is probably very "conservative".
2) Remember that a chicken lays an egg only every day or two and won't sit on them until there is a clutch so figure AT LEAST a week, probably 2, and the eggs are fine. If they are fertilized, they don't start to develop until they are at LEAST 85F. So you know that an egg laid today and kept at room temperature is fine AT LEAST 2 weeks and based on tests like the one in Mother Earth News Magazine, many, many weeks.

Or clean the nest boxes..............

Novel idea!

Though sometimes the chickens don't wipe their feet on the provided mat and use the foot bath before they go in the nest

I have talked to walmart and thay saved me some cartons! Just washed them in vinegar and hot water and let air dry.@rojororeo

Why would Walmart have empty egg cartons?? Clearly I'm missing something here.

The only thing is they aren't huge eggs, which makes a difference I am sure.

Yeah, I charge $2.50 for eggs from my 11 very spoiled chickens. They get BOSS and scraps (generally apple cores and veg bits) in the morning, some scratch before bed and have feed from a local grain place 24x7. They are free range meaning they can go out into the fields during the day all they want. They don't "want" when the ground is covered with snow like it is now so they stay in the barn alley. They are only caged to break them if they go broody (no rooster, no reason to sit on a plastic egg or empty nest for days on end - bad for their health). They are in their coop at night with an auto door that lets them out into the alley (easily 500 sq feet inside the barn) about 8 AM. So I can certainly say with confidence that my eggs come from free range chickens (which by USDA law only have to have access to "outside" even if it is a few minutes a day on a concrete pad) and would command a higher price than generic factory farm eggs. Plus my chickens (and most everyone's on BYC) are probably treated much better than most "cage free" and "free range" hens at large egg producers. PETA has nothing to complain about with my chickens

. Even a vegan would have a hard time thinking these girls are having anything other than a good life. The eggs they give me are a natural result of them being alive and healthy.

About half the girls lay Large, XL and the occasional XXXJUMBO! The rest lay medium or small with the few that the 2 Cubalayas lay being barely USDA small. Couldn't see charging $3 for a carton that would rate USDA medium on total weight. After moulting, the bigger eggs are well into Large/XL and a carton of 6 "large" and 6 "not large" weighs over the USDA minimum for a dozen large eggs. So I suppose I could up the price but I'm only selling to 3 friends so I don't think I'll change the price. After all, they suffered with store eggs from Oct into Feb while my chickens were lazy butts and barely kept up with what we needed for ourselves.

I use permanent marker to mark my incubated eggs. Don't have any laying hens yet, but imagine you could do the same. Pencil rubs off

I wouldn't use permanent marker, the chemical stink gives me migraines, it CAN'T be a good thing. Who knows what the chemicals in those are doing to the egg bloom. I write the date and weight in pencil on each egg. If they might have been frozen, I put an F on them though the only one that was bad was the one that REALLY froze, expanded and cracked the shell. After thawing (and the crack was barely visible then) the raw yolk was the consistency of a nearly hard boiled egg. Otherwise, the only difference I've noticed in probably frozen eggs is that the white is runnier.

Bruce