This is a little "off" - but it concerns chickens!

[smokeythecat]

So...I have three new chickens. They are Old English Duckwing Bantam Gamebirds. Their names are Mr. Silver Roo, Miss Honey and Miss Buff. Buff is the smallest one but the friendliest.

Today I was outside a bit and Mr. Silver Roo was running around in circles - well - like a chicken with its head cut off. What an imbecile! Maybe he thinks he is courting the girls.

And...I got my first eggs. Now these are small birds - but - this is ridiculous. Pictured are three eggs. The first one is an extra large from the store. The second is one from Miss Honey. The last pitiful excuse "everyone gets a trophy" egg is from Miss Buff.

 

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[releventchair]

Hey them lil Bantys do what they can.

First rule of egg laying is the egg should not be bigger than the , umm , window it goes through.
Congrats , they're laying!

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Hey them lil Bantys do what they can.

First rule of egg laying is the egg should not be bigger than the , umm , window it goes through.
Congrats , they're laying!

I know from experience that the "window" the egg comes from is the same as where the poo comes from. Because of that, the eggs have to be washed.

 

[pepperj]

I know from experience that the "window" the egg comes from is the same as where the poo comes from. Because of that, the eggs have to be washed.

Dry wash, eggs last 3 weeks on counter, 3 months in fridge. Wash only in very warm+ water, not cool/cold because of the contamination will enter through the shell.

 

[pepperj]

Ok my little hens are producing pretty good results.
One is producing a very big egg.
Weigh an egg. Large is 2 ounces and she produced a 3 3/8 ounce that is Huge!!

 

[pa plateau hiker]

Dry wash, eggs last 3 weeks on counter, 3 months in fridge. Wash only in very warm+ water, not cool/cold because of the contamination will enter through the shell.

I always wash mine with cold water. I have read that warm water opens the pores of the egg shell, that's how contanimates enter.

 

[Charlie P. (NY)]

Washing an egg kills it by suffocation. The shell "breathes" through the membrane. Eggs are evolved to survive at body (chicken) temperature for the 21 to 28 day incubation cycle even if unfertilized - and even a few weeks longer. They have natural antibiotic mechanisms that fight off the E. coli which is present in the egg duct/vent to allow them to survive that long naturally. They'll keep over a month at room temperature, but only if they haven't been cold (abandoned by the chicken in cold weather) or washed. We keep ours on the counter and wash before use - the cleanest ones as collected - but this time of year they're cold by the time we collect them so it's into the refrigerator.

If the egg is fertilized the development is halted at room temperature. That's how (by temperature management) a chicken can lay 10 eggs - one a day - but have them all hatch at the same day. That never ceases to amaze me.

 

[pepperj]

"Use*warm water, not*cold water.*Warm water*can cause the contents of the*egg*to expand against the shell, helping to prevent bacteria to enter through the shell. No need to use harsh soap, bleach, or vinegar…*warm water*is sufficient"
THIS IS A COPY-PASTE

 

[pepperj]

Cold water can cause the contents of the egg to shrink, creating a vacuum that can pull bacteria into the egg through the porous shell.It is recommended to not saturate or soak eggs in water. *If they are that soiled, it may be best to just trash it.

 

[releventchair]

A neighbor gave me some eggs the other day.
The paper carton half/bottom was pretty dirty. Like kept in the coop dirty.
I picked off some hay/straw that was stuck on a couple while transferring them to a better carton , and didn't tell her royal indoors.
She asked for some reason how the neighbors washed them. I suggested eggs are not to be washed like they are (even as commercially with bleach) and that I used to use a piece of sandpaper if there was something on the shell I wanted off. Needless to say , she insisted eggs should be washed somehow. I let it go.

Keeping clean nest boxes help. (As well as hens using nest boxes as intended. L.o.l..)
I've had ducks before that seemed to delight in playing soccer with thier eggs and rolling them through any poop they could find.

 

[pa plateau hiker]

"Use*warm water, not*cold water.*Warm water*can cause the contents of the*egg*to expand against the shell, helping to prevent bacteria to enter through the shell. No need to use harsh soap, bleach, or vinegar…*warm water*is sufficient"
THIS IS A COPY-PASTE

If it's on the internet, it's gotta be true. I don't wash mine til we're ready to eat them or a friend needs a dozen or 2. I see Tractor Supply has peeps in now. My daughter thinks they are so cute. Looks like we are expanding our flock.

 

[pepperj]

If you wash eggs, the temperature of the water used should be 20F (11C) warmer than the eggs.
This is from 9 CFR 590.515:
(2) The temperature of the wash water shall be maintained at 90 °F or higher, and shall be at least 20 °F warmer than the temperature of the eggs to be washed. These temperatures shall be maintained throughout the cleaning cycle.

 

[pepperj]

If it's on the internet, it's gotta be true. I don't wash mine til we're ready to eat them or a friend needs a dozen or 2. I see Tractor Supply has peeps in now. My daughter thinks they are so cute. Looks like we are expanding our flock.

Funny you say that.
But if a person looks at the consistent reports of the same/same then one can figure it out to be a valid point.

Sounds like your in for some fun with the new chicks. All I know is mine are hungry right now, eating like crazy, must of been the -15-20C temps lately.
Here's another link for the temps.
https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8120.pdf

 

[ARC]

CAn I use the Jacuzzi for egg washing ? ? ?

:/

 

[TooManyHobbies]

I just rinse them off under running water for 20 seconds or so. More to get the dust off. Keep the boxes clean and they won't be all crappy.
Smokey, the eggs will get larger in no time. First few are always smaller. I figure it's to stretch out the cloaca. I have Jersey Giants and I got one egg about the size of your smaller one.

 

[billb]

I don’t know much about cleaning eggs as we get them from the market and they are clean
on the other hand people get chickens up here to run around and eat the ticks

 

[pepperj]

Now that spring is almost in the air, it's getting time for the thoughts of letting the hens out more each day into the larger run.
The thing is to let them out after they've lay to prevent them from laying on the ground, and not in the nesting boxes.
These hens are now 25 weeks old and some seem to have no real sense of time when to lay.
Last nightlight we went in to shutting lights off (14hr required lighting for laying) and there's this one hen laying her jumbo egg at 8:30pm.
21 hens and averaging 18 eggs a day-through the late winter is great. Getting to the point of only medium egg every few days now.

 

[billb]

pepperj sure brings fond memories back as my wife’s father had chickens and I coming from a city dwelling I never experienced or knew anything about raising them.Opening the door to the coop and seeing eggs was such a sight