Got my first beautiful egg!!! With it comes a couple of questions

[smalltownchicks]

Well, you should have seen me jumping up and down in the yard asking which one of the girls laid these beautiful eggs.

It was quite a sight.
I missed ONE day looking in the coop and so yestereday there were 2 eggs. How long can they be out there and still good to eat? Now I just have to get her to lay them in the
nest boxes!!

 

[fshinggrl]

Congratulations! The eggs are fine to eat. They are generally fine at room temperature for over a week! Enjoy!

 

[johnsons-r-us]

They should be fine. Do the float test if you want, but one day is nothing! I was so frustrated looking everday that I refused to look for over a week. My avatar shows the nest of eggs I found after looking and finding my first eggs

They all passed the float test and we ate them. They were all good! I don't miss a day looking now though.....

 

[corgiscatsandchickens]

Congrats!

As long as the weather is cool, they can stay out there a long time. The hen deposits a natural antibacterial/microbial that covers the egg when she lays it. Keeps it safe for the chick if it develops inside and keeps the egg fresh for us to eat!

When an egg is harvested in an egg factory setting, the egg is washed to remove any poo, dirt, etc., then to keep it fresh, they spray it with mineral oil. The mineral oil doesn't keep the egg as fresh as the hen's natural substance does, hence why you have to keep store-bought eggs refrigerated. Backyard chicken people and old-timey farmers sometimes never refrigerate their eggs, and a lot of us will leave our eggs out on the countertop for a week or more at a time.

Isn't it great how nature's way is usually the best?

Here's to many more eggs for you and your girls!

P.S. Try golf balls or ping pong balls in the nestboxes. Helps them know where to go!

 

[rungirl]

Many of us don't refrigerate our eggs. They stay good for several weeks if you don't wash the protective coating off them. If you wash them, then they should be refrigerated. Go ahead and enjoy those eggs. Congratulations on your first egg!