let’s talk about the hottest commodity right now. EGGS!
we’ve had chickens for about 10 years. they are truly entertaining tiny dinosaurs. they’re goofy and spastic and give us the best butt nuggets ever! and these days, thats like having a gold mine in our back yard!
we’ve learned a lot, we’ve lost more birds than i can keep track of, and made plenty of mistakes.
but this post is specifically about eggs. there’s a whole world when comes to eggs, and i’ve only just scratched the surface myself. did you know you can keep eggs for a year? not in the fridge or freezer!? the process is storing them in lime (the mineral, not the fruit) and water…its called water glassing. best i understand, the lime seals shell to make it impenetrable to bacteria, you can read more about it here on THE PRARIE HOMESTEAD. Jill Winger is an amazing resources for all things homestead, i’ve followed her for years and learned so much. although i’ve never used the water glassing method, i’d love to try it someday.
did you know that the US is the only country in the world that washes its eggs?
eggs are laid with a protective outer coating called the BLOOM. the bloom is what can make the eggs look pastel colored, or even whiteish (if they’re colored eggs). the bloom also protects the egg. eggshells are porous, but the bloom prevents bacteria from penetrating the shell. when eggs are washed, that bloom is washed off and the risk for bacteria skyrockets. which is why eggs need to be refrigerated.
mind. blown. right?
now, if eggs are exceptionally dirty, I’ll wash them and refrigerate them. but generally they sit on my counter! and in this fun egg holder too!
our chickens lay all different colors. did you know different breeds lay different colors? we always add individual breeds, but roosters fertilize eggs from a different breed hen, and suddenly we have a flock of barnyard mixes.
that brings me to another point, fertilized eggs! over the years, I’ve had so many people ask about how eggs are made. do you need a rooster to have eggs? are they fertilized after they’re laid? are the different colored eggs, different inside? (no, all eggs are the same inside, regardless of the color of the shell)
chickens all have a certain number of embryos (varies per breed) and lay an egg every day or every few days. the egg production slows down as the chicken gets older, I think their prime laying is right around 18 months. but the eggs aren’t fertilized unless the roosters and hens mate. so no, no chicks unless you have roosters!
just some fun facts about eggs! anything i didn’t include that you want to know?
~b
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