Should I stock pile eggs?

[Fairview01]

What is "water glass"

Sodium silicate, the stuff in little white packets that has written on it do not ingest mixed with water. Old school. But then again in the mid sixties chlordane powder was sold over the counter also and that was old school.

 

[Crooked Chicken]

Sodium silicate, the stuff in little white packets that has written on it do not ingest mixed with water. Old school. But then again in the mid sixties chlordane powder was sold over the counter also and that was old school.

You can usually find it at reptile stores. People use it when raising crickets for their reptiles.

 

[nova022]

My chickens never stop laying except for a short period, in October/November when they molt. The standard layers are older and molt hard which equals fewer eggs, but I get a few eggs from the younger hens. I live in Florida and get very few days of freezing weather and have about 8/9 hours of strong sunlight. I feed my chickens layer crumble and give them cracked corn and black oil sunflower seeds to scatch. I didn't know that cracked corn suppressed ovulation, so I will have to consider just the black oil sunflower seeds for scratch.

My game hens free range 24/7, but I know where they like to lay. They are good flyers and have plenty of places to shelter at night and are very good layers of medium sized eggs. My standard size hens free range only when I am around because we have a coyote problem and they aren't good flyers. My bantams are confined to a large coop/run because they are easy pickings for the abundant hawks. They do seem to stop laying for a longer period of time even though their molt is barely noticable, perhaps because they get less light than the free rangers.

I do stock pile eggs at times during the spring/summer because I get so many then, which I just keep in cartons in the fridge if I plan to give them away. I keep the ones I plan to use on the counter. I will have to remember the sealed container method.

 

[aart]

Sodium silicate, the stuff in little white packets that has written on it do not ingest mixed with water. Old school. But then again in the mid sixties chlordane powder was sold over the counter also and that was old school.

Wonders how 'safe' it is to use to store eggs.

 

[Fairview01]

Wonders how 'safe' it is to use to store eggs.

Since egg shells are porous I would think that an equilibrium would begin to occur. If the surrounding liquid has a greater/lesser density of dissolved solids I could see the albumin moving out or the sodium silicate moving in the egg. Maybe not. Perhaps shell porosity is so small that only gasses can pass back and forth.

Think I might buy store bought or go without.

 

[WILIFORD]

This what I have done. It has worked well for me. First I have a light on a timer that comes on for about 2 1/2 hours after sunset. I know not everyone has power to the hen yard. nor do I. I installed a $70 dollar solar panel with a charge control from Amazon. My battery is a inexpensive riding lawn mower battery from Wal-mart. My light is a 12V light for an RV. Again from Amazon. The battery and charge system, power both my light and my power chicken door which is also on a timer. If anyone is interested in the materials I used for this power system, let me know and I will post links to them.

The light hasn't not cause any problem with their molting cycle, or had any negative effect on the hens. My egg production drops off some, but not at all like any of my friends experience with their flocks.

The second thing, add a few extra hens to your flock. you will end up with extra eggs most of the year. Which is not a bad thing. You can give them away, but I always have someone that wants to purchase my extra fresh eggs. Then when the colder season comes, even with diminished laying, I have an ample supply fresh eggs for myself.

 

[rookhomestead]

Someone mentioned leghorns.... I have one over a year old and under a year old. They are the only 2 that have continued to lay consistently. There were days they didn't for about a month but got right back to it. My flock is all mutt birds lol. A nice heritage breed might make a difference. Mine have finished molting/some are still molting, but the leghorns (leghorn looking ones) are the only reliable ones. Ive also heard about the mineral oil thing, but they stored at room temp. Everybody has a fridge, so my suggestion would be unwashed and refrigerate in a container. They last a long time. I don't use artificial light because nature tells them to take a break, and thats what they need. Unless you only use them for 2 years then cull, I reckon then it wouldnt matter.

 

[Double Yolked]

If you just want to store eggs cold but are avoiding the dehydrating effect of a fridge, why not store them in a moderately sized plastic storage tub in an unheated garage, cellar or back porch where the temperature never gets too high? Or are you so far north that would be the same as a freezer?

 

[pamonarch]

I have read that if you add cracked corn to their diet the egg production will keep up. We added it to ours and our chickens are still laying steadily.

i give mine 5 grain scratch everyday and they are still laying...15 hens...13 to 14 eggs a day...yayayyyyy

 

[NevilChick]

I have read that if you add cracked corn to their diet the egg production will keep up. We added it to ours and our chickens are still laying steadily.

I would be careful with the protein. I had a recent post about chickens dying unexpectedly and everyone on here kindly helped me. In the end my chickens were not getting enough protein for the winter/molting and were actually malnourished. After adjusting their feed and adding foods with protein, I have not lost another chicken thankfully. My uncle just delivered a bucket of fish guts for them to keep that protein up. I had to take my off their treat of cracked corn. Just sharing what was shared with me.