Safely Keeping Chicken Eggs

Once the peeping of the baby chicks stops the time of egg laying begins shortly after. This is such an exciting time for chicken lovers and the feeling of that first egg is something I can’t begin to describe. I know I took at least a handful of photos of my first eggs and of course shared them on every social media outlet that I had at the time. Safely keeping chicken eggs is something so important. Many people believe old wives tales or simply just don’t know, so buckle up and prepare to learn all things egg storage.

I find that I use older resources mixed with new ones when needing information on the internet. The combination of all information usually leads me to the knowledge that I need when I need it. I am a huge lover of the Almanac because it is something I grew up with for planting and other fun facts. They have a broad spectrum of information on so many topics; chicken eggs included.

First Things First

We like to make sure the space where our chickens lay is appropriate. It takes some cleaning because unlike many animals chickens do not care where they poop. If the feeling hits them then they are going to go. I like to use straw in our nest boxes but occasionally when it’s hard to find in our rural area I grab a bag of pine shavings. Note pine because cedar shavings are not recommended for chickens. We also have found that some of our chickens like to lay their eggs on a turf material we found at the local farm and feed store. It looks just like AstroTurf and we can easily just spray it clean with the water hose or pressure washer. A clean nesting place leads to cleaner eggs, but we will talk more about that later.

When to Collect Fresh Eggs

In the Summer months we try to collect eggs as early in the day as possible. This leans they are not outside in the boiling heat. Most of the hens will lay in the morning and happily hop down and enjoy the rest of their day. If you notice that some hens lay later in the day often collecting eggs multiple times per day can be necessary. Either way we just make sure we don’t leave the eggs out very long after being laid. If you have a broody hen (one who wants to sit on the eggs and hatch them) sometimes you have to develop a little sneak attack plan to make sure you can collect the eggs. Hens will even become broody without a rooster because some just want to become moms.

To Wash or Not to Wash

We avoid fully washing fresh eggs completely to protect the bloom. This is a natural protectant against bacteria. Going back to the topic of a clean nesting box we find the eggs are definitely cleaner when the boxes are clean, but sometimes life gets in the way or there are just hens that are a little messier than others.

If you notice that there is some poo on your eggs we use a damp washcloth to wipe them. Sometimes that just isn’t enough though and we have to resort to submerging the eggs and washing with a vegetable brush. I am very careful that this NEVER touches our food and is cleaned and stored completely separately from anything that will be near our food.

We dry our eggs with paper towels after a submerging bath and then put them in cartons.

That being said, if you are handling eggs you should wash your hands!

Dating the Eggs

Making sure that you know the “lay date” of your eggs is so important. We write this with a food safe pencil or write on the cartons if we get more than a dozen in a day. This is also important if you are going to be hatching in an incubator but maybe we can talk about that in another article.

Did you know that fresh eggs can be kept in the refrigerator for 4 weeks? Store in the fridge between 33-40 degrees. We like to use the ones that are a little older (1-2 weeks) for boiled eggs since they do seem to peel easier than the really fresh ones.

How Long do Chickens Lay?

With your new feathered friends you can expect an egg a day for several years before production dwindles down. We have had hens lay consistently for years and then go to only laying several eggs per week. Certain breeds lay longer and more consistently than others while others are more for looks and never lay consistently even at a young age. We have had so many varieties and I still have to say that I am partial to the Rhode Island Red who is known to lay up to 300 eggs per year!

One thing is for certain, once you have had fresh chicken eggs it is very hard to head back to buying them at the grocery store. We haven’t bought too many eggs over the last 10 or so years and we are proud to be able to offer our fresh eggs to family, friends and neighbors when we get too many. They make a delicious breakfast, amazing baked goods and of course the chickens are so much fun to have as pets. I feel they truly add value to our lives and of course our meal times as well.

No matter how many chickens you decide to have in your back yard (and yes chicken math is a thing), always be sure to follow your local guidelines and also choose to safely keep them to avoid illness. We have written several practical guides for backyard chickens here on this blog and hope you enjoy reading those as well.

By: Samantha Cooper