One of the joys of chicken rearing is getting fresh and organic eggs right at your home. You don’t have to go to the grocery store every week to get your dozen eggs and all you need to do is go to the chicken pen and scoop off a couple of fresh eggs. Most grocery stores have old eggs that are up to two months old. If you are new to chicken rearing and you don’t know how to take care of the eggs, here is how you do it:
Cleaning The Eggs
This is one of the most important things to watch out for when it comes to getting fresh eggs from the chicken. The nesting box where your chicken lays its eggs should be cleaned regularly so as to prevent any bacteria infesting the eggs. The eggs might have dirt or chicken poop on them so always make sure that they are cleaned. Always clean them in warm water and not cool.
Never Wash Them As Soon As They Are Hatched
It is a general rule of thumb in egg farming not to wash them as soon as they are hatched or collected from the nesting area. Let them sit out for a while because the outer coating or lining of the eggshell naturally keeps out any bacteria or air to come inside, so all you need to do is see if they are cracked or not. You need to let the eggs bloom so that they remain fresh for longer.
Keep Them In The Fridge
The weather in UK is cold enough to sustain eggs and keep them fresh for long periods of time so keeping them in the fridge is not necessary. Many grocery stores don’t even keep them in the fridge and they are out in room temperature thanks to the cold climate. But if you are not planning to eat or use them for a while then you should probably keep them in the fridge. A fridge keeps them fresh 7 times longer as opposed to room temperature.
Storing The Eggs
Eggs should always be placed with the wide side up and the narrow and pointy side down. This ensures that no moisture is lost from the egg. A lot of people who are starting out make this common mistake. Eggs absorb the odours from outside so unless you want your eggs to smell like anything other than eggs, store them in a properly covered box. If you don’t have a box, a bowl covered in plastic foil is good enough to do the job.
Freeze Them
Do you know that you can also freeze the eggs? If you have any extra eggs that you don’t know what to do with yet, you can simply freeze them for later use when there are fewer eggs being laid. Don’t make the mistake of letting the eggs freeze out in the open if it is winter. The weather in the freezer and outside varies. If the eggs are frozen outside, they will most probably crack.
