Help! Someone Accused me of selling old eggs

[therustytractorfarm]

Do you know what she means by "gone bad"? It's not that unusual for a hen to lay an egg with something inside, a blood spot or meat spot usually. Commercial operations electronically candle their eggs to remove any of these before they hit the store so their customers aren't surprised. They sell the eggs with things inside them to customers that break the eggs before use, like bakeries or for pet food. The people I give or sell my eggs to understand this is part of farm fresh eggs. It is always a good idea to break our eggs into a bowl before we add them to anything. Is this the complaint?

You refrigerate yours immediately. They can go months like that without going bad. But you wash them if they are dirty just before you sell them. They should be pretty cold but you always want to use water warmer than the egg when you wash them. If you use colder water the air cell can shrink which causes a vacuum that can suck water in through the porous shell. If that water has any bacteria in it that bacteria could contaminate the eggs.

How does she store the eggs? Since you wash the dirty ones you remove the "bloom". Bloom is a coating the hen puts on the as it is laid, that's why an egg just laid looks wet, it is. When it dries the bloom helps stop bacteria from entering the porous egg. Also since yrs are refrigerated, they might get some condensation on them as they warm up. That might interfere with the bloom. Eggs with the bloom intact can last a long time on the counter, but since yours have been refrigerated, your customers need to refrigerate them too.

Are your eggs fertile? If fertile eggs are stored much above 80 degrees F they can develop a little. The warmer they are the faster they develop. Again, how is she storing the eggs?

 

[Lrosell31]

That’s why I sell mine laid that week. Two weeks at most. Not that I think they’ve gone bad after that but I just like to sell them as fresh as possible. I had one lady complained that they were too fresh and she couldn’t peel them. LOL. She laughed when she complained so now she just gets an extra dozen And let them sit for a week to hard boil those

I was wondering why my hard boiled eggs were so hard to peel. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong when I boiled them. From now on I will keep a carton just for hard boiling. How old should eggs be for better hard boiled eggs.

 

[therustytractorfarm]

Thank you for all the info! My eggs are fertile, so I do wonder if she is talking about a couple of bloodspots, which I know I have seen when I use my eggs at home. Unfortunately, she will not get back to me when I asked her questions, so I cannot find out. I think all my future customers will get a pamphlet with suggestions on egg storage and what to expect from farm fresh eggs. Thanks again!

 

[Birdsong 82]

I leave mine usually about a week to 2 weeks for my boil eggs... the fresher they are the harder they are to peel. Makes you think about how the shells at the grocery store come off with NO effort. I add a couple tsp of baking soda too. Feel like that helps. I was getting frustrated trying to peel them and ending up with a mess then I read somewhere about letting them set before boiling and now I peel super easy

I was wondering why my hard boiled eggs were so hard to peel. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong when I boiled them. From now on I will keep a carton just for hard boiling. How old should eggs be for better hard boiled eggs.

 

[Lrosell31]

I leave mine usually about a week to 2 weeks for my boil eggs... the fresher they are the harder they are to peel. Makes you think about how the shells at the grocery store come off with NO effort. I add a couple tsp of baking soda too. Feel like that helps. I was getting frustrated trying to peel them and ending up with a mess then I read somewhere about letting them set before boiling and now I peel super easy

Thanks.

 

[FlyingNunFarm]

@rcoleman56 for your question I would start a thread here
www.backyardchickens.com/forums/incubating-hatching-eggs.5/

For a quick answer your hen is broody. It takes on average 19 days to hatch. She is sitting on eggs she and other hens are laying. It sounds like your other hens are continuing to add eggs to the clutch so now you have no idea what eggs are on what day if incubation.
If you want her to hatch some I would candle the eggs under her to see which ones are the farthest along and leave those with her. Mark them so you know which ones they are and remove the rest.

Edit: 21 days to hatch! 19 is lockdown

 

[Abriana]

Eggs from your hens that are unwashed can last for multiple months on the counter. Cracked eggs spoil quick so candle each egg before putting it in the carton or candle every night when you gather, looking for cracks big or small.

 

[cmom]

I had a complaint once that the eggs were to watery and therefore must be old eggs. I took another egg from the carton and opened into a container and to me the egg looked ok. I gave the lady a free dozen and told her to have a nice day and walked away. I haven't seen her since. I sell my eggs usually for $4.00 a dozen but during the spring when I have a lot of eggs I will reduce the price and often times customers who usually take a dozen or 2 will get 3 or 4 dozen. I have my eggs in a cooler. Sometimes we sell some vegetables. We are self service. For the most part we have good honest customers. We did have a thief but I also have cameras so the thief was caught on camera.

 

[Birdsong 82]

That’s terrible. Glad you gottem!! Luckily I deal with pretty good people. I’ve hd a lot of the really hard to peel but onceI explain the fresher to harder to peel they seem pretty happy then... shows they are fresh. And my buddy explaining the meat spot being normal and customer being ok. Not very fair if she won’t explain to help you understand so you can explain to others. Your pamphlet I idea with storage instructions and what to expect and tips is a good idea.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I was wondering why my hard boiled eggs were so hard to peel. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong when I boiled them. From now on I will keep a carton just for hard boiling. How old should eggs be for better hard boiled eggs.

I agree with two weeks or so. I have started to put a few eggs aside to age specifically for hard boiling, since it makes such a huge difference. Never had to do it before but we're always low on eggs now that we're supplying family as well, so the eggs really are too fresh for easy peeling.