New hens not going into Eglu Go Up

[JPalmer]

Hi,

 

So excited found my first egg today wooo hoo got my 3 hens in August and in October heard on crow then in November heard another one crow so my only hen layed her first egg today. Here is the dumb question I am pretty sure (seen both mount her multiple times) the eggs are fertilized, I can still eat them right??? See dumb question! So here I go with another one how long do the eggs last? Couple of days a week a month??? Just curious so that I can keep and eye on things we don't eat that many eggs. I am getting 3 more hens in the next few weeks due to the cockeral vs hen issue. Sorry for the stupid question and thanks ...

Edited January 12, 2011 by Guest

[Egluntyne]

No question is daft ....and yes, you can eat them.

[Chortle Chook]

Hello and welcome.

No questions are dumb. Most of us have loads to learn and this is a super place for that.

 

Regarding eating firtilized eggs, yes you certainly can eat them, providing, that is, that you are not a vegetarian. The embryos would not start to develop until the mummy chicken began sitting on a clutch. She would wait till she has a few laid before she does that. I have read (but others may correct me) that this can be up to 3 weeks after she lays the first in her clutch.

 

The little red dots, you sometimes see in an egg when you break it, are not, as some people think, embryos, and actually have nothing to do with the egg being firtile. They are tiny blood vessels that have broken as the egg is created inside the hen and again are nothing to worry about.

 

I think that you can keep an egg for about 3 weeks before you eat them but obviously the fresher the better. I believe that Maran eggs can be kept for longer as the egg shell is less porus than eggs from other breeds.

[JPalmer]

Thanks Egluntyne and Cheaky Chook...

 

 

I was pretty sure it was okay but had a sudden thought hummm maybe not. Glad to know it is a few weeks we don't eat alot of eggs and mine are from a Poland so they are so cute and tiny so need a few to do much with them.

[Chortle Chook]

I found that it took a while before I had worked out quite how many bantam eggs I needed before I could 'do anything with them'. It is not as easy as 2 bantam eggs to every big egg because in a bantam egg the proportion of yolk to white is different from 'normal' sized eggs i.e. you get more yolk / less white per egg. This means that they are super healthy but also rather rich. I find, for instance that scrambled egg for 2 does not take 6 bantam eggs (or at least not when I keep in the same amount of butter and cream that I normally indulge in ). I have not yet tried making a cake with mine.