Our chicken are fun and friendly , and we enjoy accept them in our life , but let ’s be dependable : We ’re in it for the egg . keep lay hen is an educational experience — a daily deterrent example that cue us that our food is the product of another being ’s energy and unvoiced employment . It can be frustrative when our girls ’ nut get recede , crack or lose their freshness . Lucky for us wimp keepers , the orchis is a resilient little thing . By following the five tips below , your hens ’ freshest eggs will always be quick for your frying pan .
1. Use a Nest Box and Keep It Clean
Every chicken keeper needs to bring home the bacon a nest box to his or her muckle of laying hens . leave nest boxes for your lay hens is a basic courtesy and creates a safe , reliable space for egg pose . With comfortable nest boxes , hen will turn back mean solar day after day , ensuring you cognise exactly where the egg are . ( No Easter egg Holman Hunt around the M bet for wayward eggs ! )
Thankfully , chicken are n’t finical : The idealistic nest box is warm , dry , dark , and free from drafts and wet . It should be lined with gentle bedding , such as hay , stubble or pine shavings . Standard - sized hens will need a nest boxwood of about 14 - by-14 - by-14 inches , and cozier accommodations of 12 - by-12 - by-12 inches will do nicely for bantams . One box for every four to five chickens in a pot is more than sufficient . on a regular basis clean out nests by remove and replace dirty bedding . Clean nest box equal clean eggs !
2. Collect Eggs Daily
No matter if it ’s rainfall or gleam , make a daily trek out to the chicken coop to collect eggs day by day if you want invigorated , dependable eggs to eat . In mild temperatures of 45 to 60 degrees F , eggs will be safe for a day or so if you forget to hoard — it happens to everyone once in a while ! Be specially persevering about collecting in very hot weather , when eggs can mollycoddle quick , and very cold conditions , when egg are prone to cracking ) .
3. Don’t Wash Your Eggs
You read that proper ! Each ball is repose with a protective finishing called a shell or salad days , which harbour the bollock ’s inside ( presumptively a developing chick ) from bacterium . When the egg come into tangency with water , the bloom is washed out , leaving the egg ’s contents vulnerable . If you ’ve keep up the first gratuity and your egg are coming out of clean nest boxes , chances are they ’re sportsmanlike , ironical and poop - free . These are perfect candidates for not washing .
If your eggs are soiled or otherwise very dirty , you should certainly wash them before using them . Warm water and a mild easy lay are the salutary putz for this problem . Remember that the egg ’s shell is incredibly holey and eggs are prostrate to absorb scent — especially if they sit for a farseeing time in a refrigerator . Of all the eggs you collect , use the washed ballock first .
4. Store at a Consistent Temperature
The egg ’s bloom is really an awesome affair : With this protective coating in lieu , an bollock can safely sit at room temperature without spoiling for several weeks or more . However , there ’s a catch : If the temperature in your home plate or kitchen fluctuates day by day , as most kitchens do , your testicle wo n’t last very long at room temperature . Also , the warmer the reposition temperatures , the more likely it is that an egg will spoil . The safe option is also the elementary : put your plebeian eggs into the refrigerator , where they ’ll last up to 6 month .
5. Throw Away Rotten Eggs
This goes without saying , right ? Well , in the world of backyard chicken holding , you ’d be surprise how many not - so - fresh eggs make it to the kitchen . Once they ’re out of the coop and into your home , it can be heavy to tell between cracked or rotten eggs and impudently place eggs . To keep from getting obscure , any questionable suspects should be tossed into the compost hatful decently out .
balk the temptation to toss potentially rotten , sore eggs back to your shuttlecock : Other than possibly make them sick , you could be inadvertently boost egg eating , a rather naughty , cannibalistic habit chicken can arise . Once the riding habit is established in a passel , it ’s nearly inconceivable to break . If you find that you have an egg feeder in your thick , refer back to confidential information No . 2 , and beat them to the punch .
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