Storing Eggs

[iheartnh]

That was my post, but I did not say that eggs come out with stool on them. I said that they are inevitably coated with faecal bacteria. The shared opening at the back end of the hen is not sterile; it has a normal microbial flora that largely comprises bacteria from the digestive tract (aka faecal bacteria). The egg cannot exit the hen without running the gauntlet of this final portion of the digestive tract.

But don't take my word for it: look at the eggs your hens are laying. Some eggs have a swipe of either poop or the white material that passes for urine in birds, even though there is no chicken manure at all in the nesting box. That material came from the cloaca as the egg was being laid. Also look at the back end of your chickens: they don't always do a good job of wiping their butts.

Sorry to burst any bubbles, but the surface of an egg is not as clean as it might appear.

Even so, that doesn't mean unwashed eggs are unsafe for most people. Households with very young children, elderly people, or immunocompromised people should take extra precautions with eggs, but most of us rub along just fine with eggs straight from the hen's backside. I give my hens' eggs a wipe with a dry paper towel before putting them unwashed in the fridge. I wash only those eggs that have some poop or urate deposits on them, and clean them only as much as needed to remove the surface debris.

Hope that clears up any confusion.

-Chris King-
(veterinarian)

 

[Chris King]

Quote:
Local food pantries and soup kitchens (e.g. Samaritans) usually take fresh eggs as donations. My challenge has been not having enough egg cartons to store and transport my surplus eggs. I don't know what I was thinking, raising a dozen chicks when I don't eat alot of eggs, but now that they're laying, I'm averaging 10 eggs/day. That's 70 eggs/week! My neighbour buys 3 dozen from me every week or so, but still... Her kids just started back at school, so I've asked her to see if any of the parents at their school are interested in buying fresh eggs. I figured I'd add 50 cents to the price of a dozen and give it to the neighbour kid as a transportation fee... see if I can move some eggs that way

. I'm happy to give some away to needy families, but it sure would be nice to get some contribution to the feed bill.

BTW, I got the idea from a wonderful book, "The Fresh Egg Cookbook" by Jennifer Trainer Thompson. A great read and some terrific ideas for using up some of those extra eggs.

 

[Chris King]

The other thing I've begun doing with my surplus eggs is feeding them back to my chickens. The ultimate in recycling.

I love boiled eggs, egg salad, deviled eggs, etc., but trying to peel boiled fresh eggs is an exercise in frustration and I couldn't be bothered going through all the rigamarole that's required in order to get their shells off cleanly (which involves dunking them in an ice bath as soon as they're done cooking).

I tried poaching them, but poaching 2 dozen eggs was a rather laborious and messy affair. So, lastly (and triumphantly), I baked them. So easy! Break however many eggs you want into an oven-proof pan (I used a broad, flat stainless steel saucepan, and added just enough water to just-cover the bottom of the pan) and bake at 350 F for 50-60 min (for fully set yolks = hard-boiled eggs); less for "soft-boiled" egg consistency. Remove from the pan, chop or mash, and add whatever other ingredients you want.

Scrambled eggs is another option, but I was after something so simple that it would take very little of my time and require very little cleanup.

Whichever way you cook them, they're unrecognisable as eggs, insofar as feeding cooked eggs to your chickens doesn't encourage them to break and eat fresh eggs from their nests. And they're stellar nutrition.

Just another option for all those eggs!

-Chris King-