I’m new to raising my girls.

[SelcouthLynn]

12:50 pm

Good Afternoon Friends,

I am new to owning chickens. I’ve had my girls Shannon, Peep and May for approximately 6 months. My girls recently started laying eggs as of Tuesday this week. I have some concerns to this.

How do I know the eggs are safe for consumption? I’ve researched this topic for a while but haven’t found a solid answer. My girls are organic fed to my believe. They are fed “DuMor poultry. 16% Layer Feed ‘Crumble’ with Calcium Fortified inside!”, as well as vegetable and Fruit scraps we have. Two of my girls are Barred Rock and one is a Buff Orpington.

With the laying situation they have a functional coop with insulation but they keep digging holes by the exit and laying there. They try to run out of their coop/open area. There home is rather large and has everything they need, they just seem to want to get out. I would let them roam the area, but with coyotes and feral cats around I don’t wanna take that chance.

 

[MamaPeahen]

12:50 pm

Good Afternoon Friends,

I am new to owning chickens. I’ve had my girls Shannon, Peep and May for approximately 6 months. My girls recently started laying eggs as of Tuesday this week. I have some concerns to this.

How do I know the eggs are safe for consumption? I’ve researched this topic for a while but haven’t found a solid answer. My girls are organic fed to my believe. They are fed “DuMor poultry. 16% Layer Feed ‘Crumble’ with Calcium Fortified inside!”, as well as vegetable and Fruit scraps we have. Two of my girls are Barred Rock and one is a Buff Orpington.

With the laying situation they have a functional coop with insulation but they keep digging holes by the exit and laying there. They try to run out of their coop/open area. There home is rather large and has everything they need, they just seem to want to get out. I would let them roam the area, but with coyotes and feral cats around I don’t wanna take that chance.

The eggs your hens lay should be safe, as long as they look regular(they may be a tad small at first, just because they're the girls' first eggs)!

 

[bobbi-j]

As long as those eggs aren't laying in the hot sun for days on end, there should be no reason for them not to be safe. In my opinion, home grown eggs are far safer than those you find in the grocery store.

 

[Moon Goddess]

I am also new to chickens this season, I got mine in early April. However I decided to go all in and start with a flock of 12.

We keep all of our eggs in a basket on the kitchen counter and have never had any trouble with them being unsafe to eat. I have given away and sold some of the eggs (I’m getting 9 eggs a day now, so my basket fills quickly!!), and everyone has only said good things about them - no ill effects. I work in the food industry and have food safety certifications and don’t worry about consuming these eggs at all! If they are dirty you can ‘clean’ them with a fine sand paper. If you wash them you need to refrigerate them and eat them sooner, but a back yard egg kept at room temp should be safe to eat for over a month.

I’m sure your coop has everything the chickens need, but to be really fulfilled I think they need some time in the grass. If you are very worried about predators you could get a large wire dog crate and put them in that and bring it to different parts of the yard during the day. Most of those have a plastic tray in the bottom that slides out without opening the crate - it’s perfect to transport the chickens with the tray in, put them where you want them, and slide the tray out so they can get to all the grass and bugs. However I think if you have an hour in the morning or evening of daylight that you could spend outside with them they would do just fine with some supervised outdoor time. Watching them cruise around outside is really pleasant to me and I can tell they just love it. Not to mention you will see the color of their egg yolks becomes more golden and beautiful (and more delicious) when they get to forage a lot.

Finally, does the coop have individual nesting boxes? My coop was designed with a nesting box at the back with a hinged lid you can easily open and grab the eggs from. The only problem was the girls preferred to lay in corner of the coop near the box but not in the box. I realized it was just too big of a space and built dividers that turned it into three smaller boxes (all still accessible from the hinged roof), and now they have no trouble laying in it at all! Your girls might also benefit from a similar adjustment.

Good luck!

 

[rosemarythyme]

The eggs your hens lay should be safe, as long as they look regular(they may be a tad small at first, just because they're the girls' first eggs)!

Even if they look a little irregular they should still be fine to eat. Do expect some occasional hiccups - unlike store bought eggs, most of us don't candle eggs beforehand to make sure there's no inclusions like meat spots, blood spots, etc. If that is a concern for you, I suggest you crack each egg into a cup before mixing or using.

Think of how much fresher your home grown eggs are, and the fact that you know what's in them, because you control your chickens diet for the most part. The ones at the store look nice in their cartons but they don't taste nearly as good.

 

[aart]

Egg safety has been covered.

but they keep digging holes by the exit and laying there. ...

Chickens like to dig, looking for eats, and then often laying in the holes and scratching the dirt all over them(dust bathing).
Check out this link, I had to put down boards and blocks and pavers to keep them from digging 'out'. They like to dig near run walls because I think there are more bugs there.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/excavation-by-birds-a-word-of-warning.1086535/

...They try to run out of their coop/open area. There home is rather large and has everything they need, they just seem to want to get out.

How 'large'...in feet by feet?

My girls are organic fed to my believe. They are fed “DuMor poultry. 16% Layer Feed ‘Crumble’ with Calcium Fortified inside!”,

That is not an 'organic' feed.

Welcome to BYC!
You will learn a lot here about your chickens!
Where in this world are you located?
Climate is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!