Now that they are laying how do I eat the eggs?

[Willowspirit]

We pretty much use all of these methods. My hubby dates each egg as it goes in the carton. We get a max of five eggs a day, so easy to do. I admit I was leery when we started getting them, but we now have the confidence to give some away. Our friends have eaten them all kinds of ways and everyone has been fine. It’s scary at first I agree but they are very wonderful. You’ll never regret them once you get used to them!

 

[springvalley123]

I don't do anything special, either. The nestboxes are clean, but the odd one that gets poop, gets washed. I remind people who think that store bought eggs are safer, that I'd have to have 200 birds in my enclosure to meet the standards that the store-bought eggs have---let them visualize how dirty things must be for the commercial free range chickens.

 

[woodmort]

Yup. If there is dirt on the egg that I can't scrape off with a fingernail, I wash them with warm water, let dry and refrigerate them where they'll be used first. If I happen to crack one in the process of collecting/washing it goes in a spot in the refrigerator where it'll be used for baking. On the other hand if an egg is cracked in the nest it is fed back to the birds.

As said above as long as you're careful about keeping your birds isolated and when
bringing new ones into your flock, you're probably safe from egg borne disease. If you're worried about it, just make sure you cook them thoroughly.

BTW since I normally get 2 to 3 doz eggs a day, dating them isn't an option so I box and keep them in order of collection.

 

[aart]

I remind people who think that store bought eggs are safer, that I'd have to have 200 birds in my enclosure to meet the standards that the store-bought eggs have---let them visualize how dirty things must be for the commercial free range chickens.

That's why those eggs are sanitized

 

[woodmort]

That's why those eggs are sanitized

As should as any other kind of produce or meat one buys commercially. You never know where its been, who has handled it and under what conditions.

 

[Rammy]

Ive cracked eggs in a pan that had mud or a little poop on them and fried them right up, ate them, and had no problems. Yeah, it sounds gross, but it doesnt bother me.
For eggs I sell, I do wash them off and refrigerate. No ones ever complained about the eggs or said they got sick.

 

[ValerieJ]

As should as any other kind of produce or meat one buys commercially. You never know where its been, who has handled it and under what conditions.

That thought haunts my every shopping experience.

 

[IamRainey]

Hi, for hard cooked eggs I steam my fresh eggs for 20-22min. They peel easily even straight from the nest.

I steam mine now too but 11 minutes is all my eggs have needed. The yolks are firm all the way through but they retain an intense color and are very moist.

I've always plunged my boiled eggs into an ice bath as soon as I take them off the stove. Imagine how surprised I was to find steamed eggs don't need icing. I've never done really fresh eggs tho. I typically have eggs that are up to 2-3 weeks old in my fridge so it's very easy to steam them first and save the super fresh ones for poaching.

Poaching an hour or 2 old egg is one of the culinary delights. As satisfying to do as to enjoy.

 

[Kluk-Kluk]

And someone on this site Suggested the idea of writing the date with a pencil on the egg when you collect them. That's the best method that works for me

I place eggs in an egg carton as I collect them. In the summer, it takes a couple of days to fill a carton. I keep the carton out until I fill it, then place a slip of paper in the carton with the collection date(s). I've kept some of my eggs over 4 months, and they were all good. Cook them every way imaginable and never gotten sick. If a recipe, such as chocolate mousse, calls for a raw egg, I only use my flock's eggs, NEVER a store-bought egg. Been keeping chickens 9 years.

 

[IamRainey]

I don't date my eggs at all and, really, I'm not concerned because I know I'm eating eggs fresher by far than anything I used to get at the market. But I arrange them on the fridge shelf so I always know which are the oldest and which the newest. Then I rotate them around as older ones get used. It's like an egg skelter only on a flat shelf and they have to be manually rotated.

Hard to describe exactly, but easy to do and to use.