Single hen

[beach chick]

I may be a little obsessed, but have been thinking about eggs rather a lot recently! some questions for the eggsperts:

 

1. do eggs get bigger as the chook gets more used to it?

2. if it takes 25.5 hours for the egg to develop inside, how come they lay at roughly the same time every day?

3. do you wash your egg when you collect it or before use?

4. do you write the date on your eggs? (I havent yet, but as we get more I guess I will)

5. do you write the name of the layer on the egg? and if you do, can you recognise any difference in the taste?

6. do eggs 'lose' weight when you store them?

7. is it better to use 'older' eggs for certain things, eg meringues?

 

just wondering...

[The Dogmother]

I may be a little obsessed, but have been thinking about eggs rather a lot recently! some questions for the eggsperts:

 

1. do eggs get bigger as the chook gets more used to it?

2. if it takes 25.5 hours for the egg to develop inside, how come they lay at roughly the same time every day?

3. do you wash your egg when you collect it or before use?

4. do you write the date on your eggs? (I havent yet, but as we get more I guess I will)

5. do you write the name of the layer on the egg? and if you do, can you recognise any difference in the taste?

6. do eggs 'lose' weight when you store them?

7. is it better to use 'older' eggs for certain things, eg meringues?

 

just wondering...

 

OK, here are some answers to the ones I know...

1. Yes, the chook will lay larger, but fewer, eggs as it gets older

2. Dunno about your girls, but mine always later a bit later each day, then miss a day before starting again early inthe morning.

3. It's not advised to wash eggs (sorry lesley) as the shell is porous and can absorb any bacteria when it is wet. Chook expert Katie Thear recommends rubbing them with a dry nailbrush.

4 & 5. Rosie catalogues all our eggs, writing the name of the chook, the date laid and the weight in grammes on the shell in pencil. She then records it on a spreadsheet - scientisit in the making, I reckon! Most of them just taste darned good, but Dolly's blue eggs taste extra rich and creamy.

6. Don't know - never weighed them again.. theoretically they should; louise may be able to confirm or deny this.

7. Yes, older eggs peel better if you need hard boiled eggs for something. Also, old eggs whisk better for meringues (as you suggest)

 

I hope that this helps.

[beach chick]

gosh, I never knew not to wash them!! - will have to buy nail brush to match my egg rack.

hardboiled eggs - good point.

 

will get the children to devise a spreadsheet I think!

[The Dogmother]

When we have enough eggs to give to neighbours, they love that the hen's name is written on each egg. The lad next door says that he thanks the appropriate hen for his egg when he eats it!

[Olly]

I can tell from the size, which hen laid - one of mine consistently lays slightly smaller eggs than the other. I write the date on, so I know what order to use them in - and if I've giving them away, then the recipient knows how old they are. Never thought of writing the name on, I might do that now - as I give a lot away, it would be fun for people to know!

 

I do rinse mine if they are mucky I know you're not supposed to, but I always worry about contamination when you break them! haven't had any ill-effects so far, I just run the (warm) tap over them to loosen any gunge.

 

It took me a while to work out why they were so much harder to whisk - now I keep some 'old' eggs back if I'm making meringue!

[Charlottechicken]

1. Mine now lay larger eggs less often.

2. Mine generally lay in the morning but it does not appear to be a hard and fast rule with them!

3. No, I wipe with a nearly dry cloth only if mega dirty.

4. Yes, so they are eaten in order!

5. No, I can tell them apart. Bossy, my pepperpot lays a nicer egg than the two gingernuts, I think.

6. Theoretically, yes, as the air sac gets larger in an older egg, that's why a fresh egg will sink in water (no air sac) and an older egg will float.

7. I agree with Claret here.

[Egluntyne]

With eight I can't tell which hen laid which egg, with the exception of Nugget, who lays tiny eggs compared to her pals.

 

I don't wash them unless they are really pooey.

 

I do put the dates on.

[urbanchick]

I have a couple of egg questions:

 

Approximately how long does an egg stay fresh for?

Should they go in the fridge?

[Charlottechicken]

I don't put fresh eggs in the fridge, but others do. The reason I don't refrigerate mine is I prefer them to be at room temperature and there is more chance of them being 'tainted' by other foodstuffs in the fridge too (by smell, as porous shells). My grandparents kept hens and there was always a washing basket full of eggs in the kitchen (not refrigerated), they were OK.

 

If you are unsure of an egg you want to use, crack it open into a bowl! If it smells or looks odd then don't use it. I would use eggs up to a month old fairly happily, but it depends on the individual egg I suppose. I never throw any away without seeing how they are inside.

 

Sorry for the long rambling answer

[Christian]

If you are unsure about the freshness of an egg, drop it in a glass of water.

 

If it sinks, its very fresh.

If it floats it is too old.

Anything from sinking to floating 1/2 way is ok.

 

(this is to do with the air sack inside the shell........hardly any air when its fresh, but the older it gets the more air gets in).

 

I was always told 3 weeks out of the fridge, 4 weeks in. Ours NEVER last 3 weeks, too yummy!

[beach chick]

well, we now have 7 collected over the last 4 days, so we are having scrambled eggs for brekkie tomorrow!!! told OH about not washing them, he said "oh I never do anyway" (this is the man that obsesses about best before dates on stuff in packets!)

[Hen Watch]

Hi Redchick,

 

Supermarkets don't have any legal requirement to chill eggs on the shelf. But it is recomended that eggs are stored at a constant temperature so that is why you will see on this fourm some people putting their eggs in a fridge (and others don't) since the temperature in your kitchen goes up and down. But you must remember that as egg shells are porus if you put them next to smelly things in the fridge they might take on that flavour. It would seem to be a personal thing whether to store eggs in the fridge or not.

 

The government say use eggs 28 days from date of lay, but I think that really most people use their eggs within 3 weeks just to be sure.

[Mel (& Paul)]

We have nine chooks and two bantams and can tell the difference (not just the blue / white / brown!) but the size and shape. Our friends / neighbours / work colleagues get the eggs with the name of the layer, date laid and weight (with an extra pencilled in for Reepicheep who lays 102g eggs!!)

We keep ours in the dining room just because its ab bit cooler than the kitchen.

I tell friends that they are fresh for up to three or four weeks and older eggs are better for boiling and poaching

[urbanchick]

Thanks. The reason I asked is because I am looking forward to eggs with a longer life than the supermarket ones. Both Sainsburys and Waitrose only give me 1 week from purchase, which probably goes to show how long they've been sitting around.

[Hen Watch]

Hi Redchick,

 

For Waitrose eggs, they are collected regularily from numerous farms and will never be more than 26 days old by the time they reach their best before date. But in actual fact Waitrose eggs are closer to 21 days old by the time they reach their best before date and are between 4-7 days old when they reach the branches.

 

PS. guess where I work.......

[urbanchick]

I'm all confused about this now. On the day I pick them off the shelves, the use by date is a week later. So does that mean they were laid 2 weeks before? When I had eggs delivered from an organic box scheme company I got 3 weeks, so they must have been very fresh. I'm glad I won't have this worry when I have my own eggs.

[Hen Watch]

Pass on that one Redchick.....don't shoot the messenger......

You won't need ANY supermarket eggs soon anyway when you get your own supply. Mine started laying tiny little eggs initially, so I did buy more at first, but now they are laying bigger (almost medium sized) eggs and I generally get 3 a day now.

 

Mind you my egg consumption has gone up and my cholesterol levels might have gone up too......