Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
toward the end of the day, most chickens lay their eggs sometime during the daylight
hours. A hen's internal cycle produces eggs at a routine interval, and therefore, the hen
consistently lays within an hour or so of the same time each day.
I always gather eggs as I'm doing chores in the evening. Other people gather eggs in
the morning. You have to develop whatever system works best for you.
Make sure your eggs are always fresh and unspoiled.
Any egg with a crack in it
should be considered spoiled and immediately discarded. If your pen is not heated in the
wintertime, be careful that the eggs do not freeze. You may want to make frequent trips
to the coop when the temperatures are below 20°F (−7°C) outside, as eggs freeze rather
quickly. As the egg freezes, the contents swell, causing the eggshell to crack and thus
exposing the contents inside to the surface bacteria, which can then grow rapidly in the
nutrient-rich environment inside the shell. Frozen eggs will spoil much quicker if they
have a crack in them. Always test an egg you think may be spoiled (see box below).
Once you've gathered the eggs, wash them.
Use a soapy water solution to scrub
off any surface manure, feathers, straw, and anything that adheres to the outside of the
shell. Rinse with clear water, let them air dry, and then refrigerate. The eggs are safe for
consumption as long as there are no cracks in the shell. Once you wash the eggs, you
have removed what is called the bloom, the protective coating on the outer surface of
the eggshell. Most people naturally wash eggs if they see they are covered with some
sort of waste product, but even when the eggs look clean, they will have some sort of
bacteria on them, so washing should be done to all eggs that will be eaten.
SPOILED EGG TEST
To determine if an egg is spoiled, simply place it in water. Spoiled eggs almost al-
ways float. Remove these from your eating-egg stock, as they should never be con-
sumed. In years past, people would eat these eggs and eggs that were cracked as
quickly as possible, but it's best not to take any chances with cracked eggs, or eggs
that float.
HARD-BOILED TOO HARD TO PEEL?
The most common frustration encountered by first-time chicken raisers is the diffi-
culty in peeling hard-boiled fresh eggs. Boiled eggs made from fresh eggs do not peel
easily. When they're fresh, you lose most of the white with the shell during the peel-
ing process.
