will marking harm egg bloom?

[MEMama3]

I am trying to come up with a good egg marking system for my eggs (I store on the counter). Does anyone have a good suggestion other than writing the date? I was thinking of using a different colored crayon for each day of the week since we eat almost all our eggs within a week of hatching. Also,does writing on the egg with a pencil or drawing a small mark in crayon harm the bloom on the egg?

 

[scratch'n'peck]

I don't think crayon or colored pencil would harm the bloom at all. I write the date because I sometimes keep them more than a week ( in the fridge), but your idea sounds like it could work.

 

[donrae]

I use a sharpie to mark my broody's eggs so I can remove extra eggs that might be added by other hens. I've not had it effect hatch rates, so I can't see it would effect quality on an eating egg.

I just put the eggs in cartons and put the freshest on the bottom of the stack. Top carton gets eaten from first, and if I want to give eggs to someone I use the bottom carton so they get fresher eggs. Don't need to write dates that way. If you eat all your eggs within a week (I'm really hoping you meant a week of laying, not hatching

) I really wouldn't worry about it. Eggs can last a long time on the counter.

 

[wsmith]

When I need to mark the eggs, I use a grease pencil. For fertile eggs from the breeding pens, I also date them using a cheap date stamp. I've never noticed any issues from marking them. I suppose that using too much ink could possibly soak in, but I don't know. A crayon is similar to a grease pencil, and should be fine.

 

[MEMama3]

Thanks everyone!

 

[young1]

I noticed in your message you talked about "eggs on the counter". Do you mean you leave your eggs out on the counter and do not refrigerate? How long are they ok for?

 

[MEMama3]

That is up to serious debate. If mine are clean (not soiled from the nest box) I keep them on the counter for two weeks. If I have more than we will consume in two weeks or if I wash them then they go in the fridge. As long as the bloom is in tact (hasn't been washed off) eggs can last at room temperature for quite a long time. In many countries it is considered very odd to refrigerate eggs.