Midwinter duck eggs - how long have I got?

[Erebus]

Hi there folks. It's the middle of winter here and it's been pretty mild and the girls are back on the lay. The last week we have had a few frosts, and hail, and generally miserable weather that hasn't got much above 10°C (50°F).

We have 2 ducks and I've been collecting an egg a day but I just uncovered a nest with 14 eggs in it from our other lady. I had collected 8 eggs from one of them so it's possible it's a shared nest and maybe 6 days worth of the other girl too? (iykwim?)

Well I bathed all the eggs and they all sank quite nicely so they don't seem to be dodgy, so I'm hoping that the recommendation of 2 weeks for room temp eggs and 6 for refrigerated puts me at closer to 1-2 more weeks before I have to use them all?

What are your estimates on how long I can keep em? Or should I just check if they float, check if they smell, and then cook the heck out of em rather than using them in any way that keeps the yolks runny?

I'd love to hear your thoughts.

 

[FarmrGirl]

Quote:
float check and smell. Eggs last a REEEEEEAAAALLY long time if they're kept in the fridge. Shoot... the eggs you buy at the store are more than 2 weeks old before you ever buy them (I suspect more like 2 months). A lot of "food timing" is based on the day you get it home from the store. Because the processer had to take time to get them to ship, then they have to ship to the store, then the store puts them out for a while, then you take them home. If your food is fresh (like a just laid egg or a home processes chicken) you have lots of time.

Never hurts to float check eggs though, just takes a sec.

 

[Denninmi]

For human consumption, you can keep them up to 2 months in the refrigerator. Just double check each egg before use just to be sure its still good when they're getting on the old side -- I crack each one individually into a bowl.

I have found that duck eggs seem to go bad more often than hens eggs. I believe this is due to the fact that ducks are naturally "wet" and the eggs are laid in a moister environment, allowing more bacteria to grow on them.

You can also freeze eggs, either right in the shell or cracked out. They'll stay good for at least 3 months when frozen. If in the shell, the shell will crack, but no big deal. Just take them out of the freezer, run under hot tap water for about 20 seconds, and this will thaw the shell enough to easily remove it from the egg-cycle inside.

 

[jbourget]

If an EGG IS NEVER put in the fridge and always kept at room temp they are good for 6 months. less once thye are cooled off. old wise tale.

 

[Erebus]

Can't say that I agree with that last post, just from personal experience.

Thanks very much for the information folks. I'll just pay attention to how they look and smell. When I first moved in here there was a nest of 20 eggs in the long grass near the fence and we ate about half of them before any of them started looking a little floaty.