rolly polly

[Mander9888]

Hey guys,
My chickens have been laying for around 6-8 weeks now. I have a little black and gold banty and a pretty red "pullet". I've been told several different names for them by different places/people so I won't dwell on that here.

Anyway, at first they layed eggs on opposite sides of the coop. Now they are both rolling them into one pile together! Does this mean something? Should I leave them and not collect them? And lastly, how long after an egg has been layed do I need to avoid using them for eating? My husband is very reluctant to eat them after awhile, so I'd like to have an answer next time her gives me a hard time

 

[LT]

I don't have an answer for your first question, as I have never heard of chickens doing that. But for the second question, the egg has a natural "bloom" on it that protects it from bacteria. As long as the bloom isn't washed off, then the eggs are fine to eat for several weeks. We do not wash our eggs until we are ready to use them, and we do not refrigerate them either. If you wash them, they should be refrigerated, but they would still last as long or longer than store-bought eggs. Most eggs you by in the store are several weeks old when you by them. And, if you still aren't certain about their quality, you could do the float test. Search for it here on the forum to read more about it.

 

[Mander9888]

Quote:
Thanks so much. So you keep yours on the counter room temperature, or leave them outside?

 

[mamabigbird]

Mine are gathered and kept in a plastic ice cream pail, stored in their feed bin inside the coop.
When the pail is full I put them into egg cartons and bring them in to the fridge or put out at the curb for sale.
No washing needed except the poopiest ones (I save those for personal use and wash just before I crack 'em open)
Sometimes they are a week old before they come in from the coop, except in the hottest season ... brought in and refrigerated daily.

Store bought eggs are often months old, they are cold warehoused before they are shipped to distributors.

A side note: If eggs are too fresh they are a bugger to peel when hard boiled.
Save fresh eggs for at least a week before hard boiling.

Oh and your first question ... hens seem to like to bundle their eggs in one spot or nest together.
I often find six or more in one nest and only a few loners in the other nests.

 

[LT]

Quote:
Thanks so much. So you keep yours on the counter room temperature, or leave them outside?

We keep them on the kitchen counter in a carton labeled "oldest to newest" so we know which ones to use first.

 

[Mander9888]

Wow thanks. That makes sense though. I appreciate the advice

 

[anderson8505]

Trying to get them all together sounds like someone's going broody, but if no one is sitting on them, perhaps they are just getting ready to play billiards?

sORRY, need to go to bed, I think.

About eating them, they're fine! When my girls were first beginning to lay I found 9 eggs in the compost pile (no animal bits in there) and we ate the eggs. None were yucky or smelled bad inside, and no one at my house got sick. People on BYC have said they leave their eggs on the kitchen counter in a basket for WEEKS with no problems.

G'night.