Finally laying

[CZPhoenix]

How long after they start laying can the eggs be consumed? I've gotten a lot of conflicting info on this.

Carol

 

[Kittyf]

If your chickens are not on medication, the eggs are edible right away. Sometimes the first couple of eggs are tiny with no yolks ("fart" or "fairy" or "wind" eggs, but you'll see this as soon as you crack them. Sometimes as your hens get the hang of laying, the eggs are soft-shelled, malformed or have other imperfections as the hen works out her egg laying routine. But there is nothing wrong with eating the eggs right away. Our hens' first eggs were wonderful.

 

[CZPhoenix]

Mine are not on any medicated feeds at all. The eggs are small, richly brown and the 4 I cracked open yesterday, had rich, almost orange-yellow yolks, including the double yolk egg. Thus, with this information, all eggs are now fair game.

 

[luvussomechicks]

So what if we have them on the medicated feed? We bought a bag, fed it all to them and still ate the eggs. We didn't get sick. Is it a good
luck that we didn't? Do you usually not eat while on any medicated feeds? No one every told us about this.

 

[Kittyf]

The medicated feed is okay, but you don't want to eat eggs while the hens are on medicine like antibiotics or wormers.

 

[CZPhoenix]

Mine were on the medicated baby food for the first bag of feed. Since then, they've never had any medications at all.

Okay, another question. Diatomacious (spelling is questionable on that word) Earth. Use it? Don't use it? Why use it?

Carol