Eggs

[Countrychickengirl24]

Hi all. I've officially given up on hatching and raising eggs. The whole experience just didn't go well for me. I've considered just eating the eggs and possibly selling fresh eggs, but however, I have a rooster with 3 hens. That being said, I have a few questions. Are they safe to eat? And if so, pros and cons to starting selling fresh eggs? Thanks!

 

[DobieLover]

Hi all. I've officially given up on hatching and raising eggs. The whole experience just didn't go well for me. I've considered just eating the eggs and possibly selling fresh eggs, but however, I have a rooster. That being said, I have a few questions. Are they safe to eat? And if so, pros and cons to starting selling fresh eggs? Thanks!

Fertilized eggs better be safe to eat or I'm in big trouble! I've not eaten anything but fertilized eggs for over 3 years.

A pro to selling fresh eggs is you get to offset some of the expense of keeping chickens.

The cons are:
- You will have customers that want eggs when you don't have them.

- You either have to put eggs out in a refrigerator on your property and have people get what they want using the honor system or you have to meet them somewhere to sell or perhaps sell at a local Farmer's Market when they are running.

- Sometimes it's tough to get enough cartons for your eggs. If you go the route of purchasing cartons, that cuts into the money you would otherwise use for feed and other chicken supplies. I know someone who's wife bakes wedding and other celebration cakes so I can get boat loads of cartons.

- Other times of the year you have more eggs than customers. Up until yesterday I had 15 dozen eggs in my refrigerator. Luckily I sold 12 dozen but then brought another 17 eggs in from the coop last night... you see where this is going.

I continue to sell eggs because I love having more chickens than I need for my personal egg use.

BTW, did you try to hatch eggs in an incubator and that is where you had trouble? Try this model next time. It works GREAT!

 

[Countrychickengirl24]

Fertilized eggs better be safe to eat or I'm in big trouble! I've not eaten anything but fertilized eggs for over 3 years.

A pro to selling fresh eggs is you get to offset some of the expense of keeping chickens.

The cons are:
- You will have customers that want eggs when you don't have them.

- You either have to put eggs out in a refrigerator on your property and have people get what they want using the honor system or you have to meet them somewhere to sell or perhaps sell at a local Farmer's Market when they are running.

- Sometimes it's tough to get enough cartons for your eggs. If you go the route of purchasing cartons, that cuts into the money you would otherwise use for feed and other chicken supplies. I know someone who's wife bakes wedding and other celebration cakes so I can get boat loads of cartons.

- Other times of the year you have more eggs than customers. Up until yesterday I had 15 dozen eggs in my refrigerator. Luckily I sold 12 dozen but then brought another 17 eggs in from the coop last night... you see where this is going.

I continue to sell eggs because I love having more chickens than I need for my personal egg use.

BTW, did you try to hatch eggs in an incubator and that is where you had trouble? Try this model next time. It works GREAT!
View attachment 2051305

Yes, I did try hatching eggs in an incubator. Unfortunately none of my hens are broody. I'm not sure which one of my hens it is, but if I leave the eggs in the coop, they'll get eaten I hatched one chick- but it shortly died afterwards. The rest I had incubating just didn't hatch even though there were blood vessels in the eggs after the first few days. It just became too heart breaking.

When getting the eggs after laying, do you immediately put them in the refridgerator?

 

[DobieLover]

Yes, I did try hatching eggs in an incubator. Unfortunately none of my hens are broody. I'm not sure which one of my hens it is, but if I leave the eggs in the coop, they'll get eaten I hatched one chick- but it shortly died afterwards. The rest I had incubating just didn't hatch even though there were blood vessels in the eggs after the first few days. It just became too heart breaking.

When getting the eggs after laying, do you immediately put them in the refridgerator?

No. If I'm going to sell them, I rinse them off in water about the same temperature as the eggs to remove stuck on straw or poop then leave them on my sink grate to dry. Then I'll carton them and put them in the frig.
Have you looked at roll away nest boxes to keep the eggs away from the egg eater?
Or tried blowing the contents of a few eggs out them filling them with mustard and leaving them for the egg eater? I've read that works. I'm grateful not to have any that do that.

 

[Countrychickengirl24]

No. If I'm going to sell them, I rinse them off in water about the same temperature as the eggs to remove stuck on straw or poop then leave them on my sink grate to dry. Then I'll carton them and put them in the frig.
Have you looked at roll away nest boxes to keep the eggs away from the egg eater?
Or tried blowing the contents of a few eggs out them filling them with mustard and leaving them for the egg eater? I've read that works. I'm grateful not to have any that do that.

I'm definitely going to start looking into one of those nest boxes! I've never heard of the mustard method, but going to try that as well! It's a hassle going to get the eggs and some of them are eaten lol

 

[Moby75165]

Hi all. I've officially given up on hatching and raising eggs. The whole experience just didn't go well for me. I've considered just eating the eggs and possibly selling fresh eggs, but however, I have a rooster with 3 hens. That being said, I have a few questions. Are they safe to eat? And if so, pros and cons to starting selling fresh eggs? Thanks!

Howdy my name is Ken,
I have a rooster and four hens.
I originally wanted all hens but one turned out to be a rooster. You don’t need a rooster to get eggs. Your chickens have all the eggs they’re ever going to lay in their entire lifetime already inside them just like a female human. You don’t need a rooster to get eggs. Your chickens have all the eggs they’re ever going to lay in their entire lifetime already inside them just like a female human. My particular chickens are Orpington‘s. They will lay an average (according to what I’m reading )of 150-200 eggs each annually.

To answer your questions yes they are perfectly safe to eat. And with three hens you should get about three eggs a day. Except during times when they are molting, it gets really cold, or other like interruptions. Sometimes They have to use the energy that they would normally produce an egg with to keep warm etc.

I never wanted to raise chicks. I only wanted four hens but was told not all the chicks were likely to make it, so I got six. One turned out to be a rooster, and one died from what’s called sudden death syndrome. Sometimes chickens under a year old we just drop over dead. Usually roosters from what I’m reading, but in my case it happened to be a hen

So I would just keep feeding your chickens, keep them happy, keep them clean, give them a treat once in a while and enjoy the eggs. And trust me, you’re not likely to eat 21 eggs a week. So you’ll have some to give away.

As for selling them, don’t expect to make a profit. A dozen eggs is under two bucks at the grocery store. Most places around here you can get homegrown eggs for three bucks a dozen.

Good luck and happy clucking

 

[Countrychickengirl24]

Howdy my name is Ken,
I have a rooster and four hens.
I originally wanted all hens but one turned out to be a rooster. You don’t need a rooster to get eggs. Your chickens have all the eggs they’re ever going to lay in their entire lifetime already inside them just like a female human. You don’t need a rooster to get eggs. Your chickens have all the eggs they’re ever going to lay in their entire lifetime already inside them just like a female human. My particular chickens are Orpington‘s. They will lay an average (according to what I’m reading )of 150-200 eggs each annually.

To answer your questions yes they are perfectly safe to eat. And with three hens you should get about three eggs a day. Except during times when they are molting, it gets really cold, or other like interruptions. Sometimes They have to use the energy that they would normally produce an egg with to keep warm etc.

I never wanted to raise chicks. I only wanted four hens but was told not all the chicks were likely to make it, so I got six. One turned out to be a rooster, and one died from what’s called sudden death syndrome. Sometimes chickens under a year old we just drop over dead. Usually roosters from what I’m reading, but in my case it happened to be a hen

So I would just keep feeding your chickens, keep them happy, keep them clean, give them a treat once in a while and enjoy the eggs. And trust me, you’re not likely to eat 21 eggs a week. So you’ll have some to give away.

As for selling them, don’t expect to make a profit. A dozen eggs is under two bucks at the grocery store. Most places around here you can get homegrown eggs for three bucks a dozen.

Good luck and happy clucking

Thanks! The same thing happened to us. We bought chickens from a local store when they were about 8 weeks old and all were supposed to be pullets, but the Brahma ended up being a rooster. We wouldn’t trade him for the world though!

 

[Countrychickengirl24]

Hi again! So I've actually noticed that the past week or so there hasn't been any eggs laid My hens are 8 months old.

 

[Moby75165]

It happens
They will
Keep them clean, fed and watered

 

[Countrychickengirl24]

It happens
They will
Keep them clean, fed and watered

That is a sigh of relief! Oh they are well loved lol