N00b egg questions

[Nyxish]

i have 5 buff orphs and 3 guineas, they are my first birds, all hatched in may (i got them as chicks, i didn't hatch them).

My Blanche (and someone else?) laid her first egg yesterday, and as of this morning i am up to 3 adorable little brown eggs. It's fabulous and very exciting and i am very proud of my girls. i'm also totally new to all this.

However, i got the birds in big part to deal with bugs (ticks) and frankly, when all 5 hens are laying, i won't eat that many eggs. i have some friends who are all excited about buying fresh free range eggs, so yay, but... well, what do i need to know about eggs?



Do i need to get them at a certain time every day or do i just listen for the smug announcement from the coop?

How long can they stay in the nesting area?

How long do fresh eggs keep? Right now the 3 are in the fridge. Can i just wait until i have 6 or 12 and then take them from the fridge to my friends?

can i just say "these were laid this week" and they should be good to go for...as long as eggs usually last? Or group by day?

They've had bits of bedding on them, but otherwise are clean, so i just rinsed off the bedding with warm water and dried it with a soft towel and put it in the bowl with the others. Is that ok?

 

[sheila3935]

the eggs you buy at most stores are already almost a month old by the time you get them so leaving them in the fridge wont hurt. They will still be fresh. Right now I have 8 laying possibly 9 one day I got 9 eggs so kinda think my 17 week old barred rock is starting to lay. I sell mine to people at work one girl buys 4 dozen a week. They now I only have so many laying now so they have to wait for me to get enough eggs. I collect mine 2 to 3 times a day when I am home my hubby isnt so good at collecting them that much so he usually check 2 times a day or less. Most times is when I call from work and say how many eggs did we get today then he goes out there. So long as it isnt really hot or really cold you can collect them once a day. By the way I always thank my girls and tell them what good girls they are. Hubby thinks Im crazy

 

[Beckyinma]

In a lot of countries it's not customary to refrigerate eggs, so they will last quite a while on the counter, and longer in the fridge.

If you're concerned about the age of the eggs, you can do a float test. If they float, they are probably bad, (there are threads on the boards as to why this happens) and you should crack them seperately into a bowl and cook completely if you're going to use them, no sunny side up with those ones!

If you scramble them, they should be fine to feed back to the girls. If the eggs sink, they're still fresh.

You don't always need to wash the eggs. If they are dry when you get them (they're body temp hot when they come out, and the moisture evaporates very quickly) just brush them off, and put them in the carton, no cleaning necessary. A little spot or two of poo or blood is even fine to leave on there. Some people swear by perfectly clean eggs, so make sure you use warm water (warmer than the temp of the egg) to rinse them to prevent bacteria from going through the pores of the egg (osmosis and diffusion with temperature differences and all that)

I only have two layers at the moment, laying about 2-3 hours apart from day to day. I keep a log of when things happen, so I have their schedules down to a science. They lay around the same time each day, together, 9am-ish, noon-ish, 3pm-ish then a day off, then back to 9am-ish and so on. So I know when to go out. As long as your girls aren't stepping on the eggs, cracking and eating them, you should be fine collecting them once or twice a day.

 

[Pequena Bandada]

Welcome - and congrats on your new eggs! Collecting and storing fresh eggs is rather simple. You don't need to collect eggs at any certain time during the day, nor do you need to go out right after hearing the egg song. I collect eggs around 6pm when I get home from work. All the eggs laid that day are waiting for me. In very hot and very cold weather, it's best to collect the eggs daily, but in the spring and fall if you skip a day and leave them overnight the eggs will still be fine. Fresh eggs can actually last for up to 2 weeks without being refrigerated - so you have lots of leeway.

When you DO collect eggs, try not to wash them as there's a coating on the eggs called the 'bloom' that keeps the eggs fresh. I just gently brush off any bits of bedding that are stuck to the egg. If you get an egg that is particularly gross on the outside, some people will tell you to leave it, some to scrub the gunk off with sand paper, and others say to wash the egg. You're certainly not going to hurt the egg whichever method you choose. (personally, I wash gross eggs before refrigerating). Refrigerated eggs last for weeks, even months, so yes, you can wait until you have a dozen or more in the fridge before selling to your friends.

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Do i need to get them at a certain time every day or do i just listen for the smug announcement from the coop?
How long can they stay in the nesting area?

Ideally you would gather the eggs several times a day. Cuts down on breakage, potential egg eating, and keeps them cleaner. In practical effect most of us can only gather them once a day and that's good enough. I really do not like leaving eggs in the nest over night. It attracts egg eaters like snakes and rats.

How long do fresh eggs keep? Right now the 3 are in the fridge. Can i just wait until i have 6 or 12 and then take them from the fridge to my friends?

Clean eggs will keep for weeks on a room temperature counter top and months in the refrigerator. We refrigerate all of ours. They retain their quality longer than those left at room temperature.

can i just say "these were laid this week" and they should be good to go for...as long as eggs usually last? Or group by day?

I sell eggs and label my cartons with the week they were laid and packed. Unless you're packing a lot of eggs per day labeling with the exact day is not worthwhile in my opinion.

They've had bits of bedding on them, but otherwise are clean, so i just rinsed off the bedding with warm water and dried it with a soft towel and put it in the bowl with the others. Is that ok?

Just keep the water at least twenty degrees warmer than the egg, don't leaving them soaking for minutes at a time, and dry promptly and you're good to go. I usually use a bit of soap as well, but so long as they look clean and you dry them promptly you're OK.