How long can I keep eggs out of the fridge?

[airmom1c05]

Yummy! Where is the pound cake recipe? I just baked two for church using a different recipe than I had ever used that called for whipping cream. I wasn't totally pleased with the results especially since each cake had 6 Brandy eggs!!!!! The batter was delicious, but the cakes were screaming for more vanilla extract or almond extract. My best pound cake recipe (tried and true) has sour cream in it.

 

[MissPrissy]

Look in the recipe section. Old Fashioned Pound Cake. It calls for 10 eggs but I use 12.

 

[NewGuineaChooks]

The 6weeks - 2 1/2 months on the counter is for eating the eggs. As MissPrissy says, they quickly get too old to incubate & hatch.

They may last even longer on the counter in the cooler weather here in the US. The times I gave were my experience from a particularly tropical climate.

But we also used the float-in-water test after the first 6 weeks, to double check that they were still good to eat.

Edit; spelling, nonsensical sentences

 

[airmom1c05]

Quote:
If that were true none of the eggs in the store would be fit to eat. They are all at least 45 days old when they hit the store shelves.

Thanks! I failed to add I meant unrefrigerated due to what I read in the "Let Mama Do It" series.

http://www.themodernhomestead.us/article/Broody-Hens-1.html

Regardless, I always use the glass of water test to be on the safe side! (Even with refrigerated eggs!) Before I had fresh eggs, I was a stickler for dates! I catch an unbelievable amount of flack about it. Naturally when Brandy started laying eggs and I was in EGG HEAVEN, my friends and family all teased me about how I would know when to throw eggs out since they weren't dated. That's when I started reading everything I could about raising chickens and found out about the water test. Nearly made myself sick reading about cleaning eggs! LOL! Thank goodness they come out clean to start with if you gather them on time. I'm often in the coop while they're being laid! When Brandy lays the occasional soft shelled egg, I come inside and scramble it immediately. I never felt bad about throwing "expired" eggs from the grocery store away (although DH couldn't STAND it!), but it would seem a mortal sin to let one of Brandy's or Penny's eggs go to waste! I have a BRANDY new outlook on eggs these days....

 

[MissPrissy]

I keep mine out on the counter for as long as 3 weeks and they are fine. They don't go bad as quickly as ppl think. As long as they are unwashed the bloom coating protects them.

 

[airmom1c05]

I've read that about the wet coating. So neat! I've only had to wipe off a few eggs so far, and they weren't exactly dirty; just calcium deposits which I have discovered will come off with gentle scrathing!

 

[airmom1c05]

Well, y'all, I put my first Serama egg in a bread basket on my kitchen counter today in hopes that Penny or even Brandy might go broody before it "floats" or better yet before the 10 days of embryo viability is up. I wrote the date on it and prayed that one of my girls goes broody. So far, I have 5 plastic eggs in Brandy's laying box. (Her eggs aren't fertilized, because Pocket is apparently too small to mate with her.) I have 3 golf balls in Penny's laying box. She only lays every other day, and Brandy lays 6 days out of 7 lately. Unfortunately, I refrigerated 2 of Penny's eggs before I figured that would kill the embryo! YIKES! I read last night that Seramas are most productive in November, January, and February.....so much for waiting 'till spring! That's why I'm clamoring for info on how to get her to hatch her own chicks (or Brandy could hatch Penny's eggs if she goes broody first!) I'm happy to know the eggs won't go to waste whether the hens go broody or not!

 

[Smitty's Farm]

Alot of chicken books recommend to store eggs in a cool dark place that they will taste better and last longer than being stored in the frig. If you are worried about keeping them on the counter, then you can do the ole bad egg check by dropping the egg in a cup of water. If it sinks it's ok, but if it floats.....then pitch it. Eggs taste better when left on the counter opposed to the frig.

 

[Churkenduse]

Yes i knew about the 45 days or even more that they hang around before we get them but they are cooled, I was just talking about on our counter. Thanks it all makes sense i didn't think of the old days,,,duh!

 

[chickenqueen]

Smitty's Farm :

Alot of chicken books recommend to store eggs in a cool dark place that they will taste better and last longer than being stored in the frig. If you are worried about keeping them on the counter, then you can do the ole bad egg check by dropping the egg in a cup of water. If it sinks it's ok, but if it floats.....then pitch it. Eggs taste better when left on the counter opposed to the frig.

I was wondering about eggs that don't float, but stand up on end. Are they ok, or should they be tossed?

We couldn't find were our eggs were going, I found a couple of hidy holes that my chickens were laying in and I had no idea how long they were there. We just thought some may have not been laying because of the heat. I was afraid to eat them because most stood on end. They never really floated, but they were not laying flat in the water either. If they are not laying flat does that mean they are not good? Please need to know also how long they can be outside with the hot weather before they turn? Finding them hidden in our Ivy. LOL...a real easter egg hunt.

They were really good about laying in their nests till just resently since it's been hot. I don't have the heart to keep them locked in their coop. They roam our backyard, and have not had any problems with cats or other vermen, but now I hope they have untrained theirselves to lay in the nest.

Thanks for any help you can give.​