After coming back in today and making myself some nice warm soup I thought I would share what I did for my Chicken Gangs. Last summer/fall I had seen something about freezing whole eggs for later consumption. At first I thought it was weird but then I had a bunch of extra eggs and didn't want them to go to waste.
I put the fresh eggs right into the freezer. Some of them I washed and kept separate for myself. I wasn't too sure how they would turn out but I'll try most things at least once. The rest I basically took from nest to freezer. Then I waited a few months. I just took out the last batch of them for today. When the chickens aren't laying so much in the winter this works out perfectly.
For myself I thought they were ok. They seemed fine for scrambling. The shells do crack so I'm glad I cleaned the shells beforehand. I let them thaw in the frig for a couple of days first.
For the chickens I decided to do them the way I do regular eggs for my chickens. I used to make a big issue of cracking and scrambling them. I also used to bake the shells. The realization that the chickens don't care one bit whether I do that or not made me stop it. So now I just bake the whole eggs in the shells. (I won't do this in the summer. It's too hot in the summer to use the oven.) If I have extra fresh eggs I probably make these for them about once a week. I don't have any problems with my chickens eating the eggs in the nests or even if they accidentally drop one in the run or yard. It's just sitting there when I come out and they have not tried to do anything to it. I've also been known to take a dirty egg and smash it on the ground for them to pick through. I'm not keen on bringing chicken poop into the house.
To bake: I lay them on some parchment or on an old baking sheet I use just for chicken eggs. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set the timer for 20 minutes (check an egg for doneness) or up to 30 minutes depending on your oven. When they are done I turn off the heat and open the door. Let them sit in the oven until the eggs are just warm and not hot. Then use some newspaper to kind of crack/smash and then smush the eggs into a big bowl.
How do you all do it? Does anyone feed raw eggs back to their chickens? I would love a solution for when it gets too hot in the house to want to cook anything.
I put the fresh eggs right into the freezer. Some of them I washed and kept separate for myself. I wasn't too sure how they would turn out but I'll try most things at least once. The rest I basically took from nest to freezer. Then I waited a few months. I just took out the last batch of them for today. When the chickens aren't laying so much in the winter this works out perfectly.
For myself I thought they were ok. They seemed fine for scrambling. The shells do crack so I'm glad I cleaned the shells beforehand. I let them thaw in the frig for a couple of days first.
For the chickens I decided to do them the way I do regular eggs for my chickens. I used to make a big issue of cracking and scrambling them. I also used to bake the shells. The realization that the chickens don't care one bit whether I do that or not made me stop it. So now I just bake the whole eggs in the shells. (I won't do this in the summer. It's too hot in the summer to use the oven.) If I have extra fresh eggs I probably make these for them about once a week. I don't have any problems with my chickens eating the eggs in the nests or even if they accidentally drop one in the run or yard. It's just sitting there when I come out and they have not tried to do anything to it. I've also been known to take a dirty egg and smash it on the ground for them to pick through. I'm not keen on bringing chicken poop into the house.
To bake: I lay them on some parchment or on an old baking sheet I use just for chicken eggs. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Set the timer for 20 minutes (check an egg for doneness) or up to 30 minutes depending on your oven. When they are done I turn off the heat and open the door. Let them sit in the oven until the eggs are just warm and not hot. Then use some newspaper to kind of crack/smash and then smush the eggs into a big bowl.
How do you all do it? Does anyone feed raw eggs back to their chickens? I would love a solution for when it gets too hot in the house to want to cook anything.