We have been waiting for our chickens to start laying and it seemed to be taking a while for some of them. Well that is because a whole bunch of them have been laying in an empty pot outside their pen! My cousin just came in with a good dozen of them! So my question is how long does an egg stay fresh enough to eat when it's left outside? I cracked a couple and they seem fine. I can't find an expiration date on a single one! Thanks, Karen
Can you believe its been in the low 90's this week? That was the main worry. My cousin keeps telling me " it's FOOD, we cant throw them out". I think he's feeling sentimental, he loves those birds! Like I said, I cracked two and they seemed fine, I have 18 chickens and three lay in the coop. A few probably aren't laying yet, so 12 could stack up in a couple of days easily in that pot if 6 or 8 chickens were to use the same spot. This is new to me, the most chickens I have had is three, and they laid in a tree stump! Thanks for your quick reply hfs, I appreciate it! KG
Thanks for all of your responses, this site and you guys are awesome! Cousin just ate some and seems fine, the eggs looked ok but I'm afraid. I think I may feed the rest to the pigs! Do I want the chickens to get a taste for eggs?
I always take my banty eggs and hardboil them for the chickens. I cut them in to small pieces, shell and all, and give them to the chickens. They love it!! I don't think they know they are eating eggs. They haven't started eating the eggs in the nesting box, at least. Good luck when you feed them the eggs, because it is like a free for all. Stand back!!
Quote:As long as they are cooked and chopped up, they won't make the connection, really. And, man oh man, do chickens love the taste of eggs! i sometimes scramble some and mix with oatmeal on a cold morning.
I have always fed hard-boiled eggs back to my chickens. Cook them and chop them up and the birds won't make the connection. Never allow them to eat a raw egg that has broken in the coop, as they will likely figure out how delicious those are (yuck) and decide to try them on their own.
