Samiam Posted February 21, 2012 Author Share Posted February 21, 2012 Wow, amazing information! See, shows what a city slicker I am....even though I grew up on small town Nebraska!! I think that also shows I was never supposed to be in Nebraska, cuz I left there knowing zilch about farm life, haha! WTM Forum is always my go-to place for amazing information!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueinNC Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 The hens would eat them before three or four days were up, but if there were any left, they'd still be fine to eat. We don't usually have eggs that are more than 2 weeks old around, but I know they're good even after that. When in doubt, place the egg in water. If it floats, toss it. If it sinks, eat it! Thanks for the tip. Never knew that about the hens eating their eggs! The quail just stock pile their eggs (just lay one on top of another). Our quail also won't lay eggs unless there is at least 16 hours of sunlight a day. We keep a light bulb on when we want eggs. What kind of hens would you recommend and how many to supply a family of three? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilymax Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Wow, this city girl has quite enjoyed this "egg-ucation". :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 How long will the eggs last before they have to be eaten or discarded? These are shop-bought unwashed eggs, so you have to add a few days for transportation to the shop. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KS_ Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Depends on the breed. Some take forever. My Easter Eggers took a year. Oh, I hope my EE doesn't take that long! I've only got one, and she's the last one we're waiting on. The other 4 (other breeds) all started laying at about 6 months. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparrow Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Thanks for the tip. Never knew that about the hens eating their eggs! The quail just stock pile their eggs (just lay one on top of another). Our quail also won't lay eggs unless there is at least 16 hours of sunlight a day. We keep a light bulb on when we want eggs. What kind of hens would you recommend and how many to supply a family of three? It depends on how much your family eats and how much you bake. You will typically get 1 egg/chicken/day, once they get going. We've always moved our chickens into the garage for the winter and get eggs year around. They have one side of the 2-car garage :tongue_smilie:. Oh, the sacrifices we've made for fresh eggs! We've had good luck with Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, and Americaunas for laying and personality. We have a Rhode Island Red that is a good layer but VERY bossy and an ISA Brown that is a great layer and has a great personality, which has not been our experience in the past, so she may just be repaying us for saving her life. She'd had a hole pecked in her back by her sister chicks :(. Question for you. What do you do with quail eggs? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueinNC Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 It depends on how much your family eats and how much you bake. You will typically get 1 egg/chicken/day, once they get going. We've always moved our chickens into the garage for the winter and get eggs year around. They have one side of the 2-car garage :tongue_smilie:. Oh, the sacrifices we've made for fresh eggs! We've had good luck with Barred Rocks, Buff Orpingtons, and Americaunas for laying and personality. We have a Rhode Island Red that is a good layer but VERY bossy and an ISA Brown that is a great layer and has a great personality, which has not been our experience in the past, so she may just be repaying us for saving her life. She'd had a hole pecked in her back by her sister chicks :(. Question for you. What do you do with quail eggs? Thanks for the info. We leave a shop light (or 2 depending how cold it gets) with a 100 light bulb in the quail pen. This generates enough heat and light to produce eggs all winter. I do cover the pen with light weight tarps and roll them up on sunny days. Well, we should be eating the eggs or selling them. But, my dh thinks it is too weird to eat them.:confused: From a guy who eats sushi and raised chickens when he was a kid! Quail eggs were on the menu at Prince William's wedding. But, I really am going to start using them. really I am. It's just that I don't go in the quails fenced-in-area every day. But, since reading this thread, I am convinced the eggs are fine to use. I thought eggs may have to be collected immediately and refrigerated. So I am going to collect them daily now. They are much smaller than hen eggs. Maybe 2 to 3 quail eggs equal a chicken egg. I am not sure how that will affect baking. The quail will be 2 years old on mother's day. When I do gather the eggs (every 4 to 6 days), there will be 50-100 eggs. Dh and dd will have egg launch competitions. They will stomp the pointier side of the egg and see who's egg will splat the furthest. I use the shells in the garden beds. Besides not having enough light, quail will also stop production for a few days if they have a great fright. We have hawks who try to get in the pen (10X10 chain link fencing with chicken wire surrounding the perimeter and top). Somehow, a couple of days ago, one hawk managed to pull a quail (up to the neck since the body won't fit through) through the chicken wire and eat the head and neck. It was very traumatizing for dd and the rest of the covey. So it will be a few days before they start laying again. We would like to add chickens but I do need to find out if we need to keep them separate (as in another part of the yard) from our quail to avoid cross contamination from transmitting diseases or such. We have to keep our rabbits (carriers of kennel cough) away from the guinea pigs because a rabbit's sneeze will give the guinea pigs respiratory infections. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueinNC Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 I've certainly kept eggs for two weeks unrefrigerated. These are shop-bought unwashed eggs, so you have to add a few days for transportation to the shop. Laura Thank you! Is it necessary to wash before using if you are just cracking them open to use in cooking? If yes, do you use just water? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Thank you! Is it necessary to wash before using if you are just cracking them open to use in cooking? If yes, do you use just water? I'm afraid I just crack them and use them. Some people wipe them and then crack them. Others wash with plain water. Some with soap. I do wash my hands after handling eggs, and I don't normally do raw-egg dishes. My husband had a raw-egg smoothy the other day though, using our neighbour's free-range (unwashed) eggs. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 On my new blog. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueinNC Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 The perfect egg. On my new blog. Laura :D It sure is pretty! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teachin'Mine Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 :D It sure is pretty! :iagree: I'd consider poking tiny holes and blowing out the egg to save the whole shell. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ravinlunachick Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Caledonia, is there an Asian grocery near you? The one we visit sells quail eggs (it's the only source around here) and they are quite pricey. I imagine you could turn a nice profit. I only knew what they were because I used to do bento lunches for dd when she was in school. They're a popular item in Japanese kids' lunches, apparently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LibraryLover Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 The tiny red spot in the yolk is from a burst blood vessel inside the hen and has nothing to do with whether or not the egg was fertilized. Yes, right. Sometimes people thnk the blood spot means it's been fertilized. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueinNC Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 :iagree: I'd consider poking tiny holes and blowing out the egg to save the whole shell. What a great idea! We have done that with those pretty green eggs a certain type of hen lays years ago. They were too pretty to paint and poke a stick through. It was at Easter one year. We still have those eggs somewhere.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueinNC Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Caledonia, is there an Asian grocery near you? The one we visit sells quail eggs (it's the only source around here) and they are quite pricey. I imagine you could turn a nice profit. I only knew what they were because I used to do bento lunches for dd when she was in school. They're a popular item in Japanese kids' lunches, apparently. There are quite a few I think. I need to look into that. Thanks for the idea! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueinNC Posted February 21, 2012 Share Posted February 21, 2012 Yes, right. Sometimes people thnk the blood spot means it's been fertilized. :o I used to think that! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrissySC Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Wow, this city girl has quite enjoyed this "egg-ucation". :) :lol: I am still "on the chicken thing". :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgialee Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Here's more interesting trivia: -hens can lay fertilized eggs up to 3 weeks after being with a rooster. -the average age of first lay of a production hen (red star, leghorn, and the like) is 24 weeks. -eggs can remain 'good' for a looooong time, even without refrigeration (as long as it hasn't been washed and doesn't have any cracks in it). I'm talking months and months. -not all chickens will eat their eggs if you only collect them every few days. -there are many different colors of eggs: blue, green, army/olive green, chocolate brown, terra cotta brown, brown, white, pink. -eggs must be incubated at 99.5 deg F for 21 days in specific humidity in order to successfully hatch a chick, or you need a broody hen to sit on her eggs for around 21 days to hatch chicks (usually hens have a much better hatch rate than incubators). -there are chickens that have black skin, there are chickens that have feathered legs and feet, there are chickens that have feathers that stick up straight from the tops of their heads, and there are chickens that have curly feathers. Want pics? Google: polish chicken, silkie chicken, cochin chicken. My fave: google frizzle polish chicken. -eggs that you buy from the store are washed in a bleach solution. The hens are packed side to side in tiny cages where they can hardly turn around and live on wire their entire lives. -you CAN tell if an egg is fertilized. There will be a spot on the yolk that looks like a white bullseye (not just a white dot) - if there's one there the egg is fertilized. Blood spots have nothing to do with fertilization. -a true free-ranged chicken will lay an egg with a DARK orange yolk which is much higher in good fats and much better for you than store bought eggs. -chickens come in all different sizes. I have one breed that is abou the size of a softball and another that is about the size of a 2.5 year old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardening momma Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 When a rooster mates with a hen, the hen is then fertile for several days, and her body will lay fertilized eggs for that duration. Here's more interesting trivia: -hens can lay fertilized eggs up to 3 weeks after being with a rooster. When you think about it, this should not be surprising. How long after fertilizing is a human's egg "lain"? 9 months. And more than one egg can be fertilized. So for a hen to lay more than one fertilized egg (much sooner than a human's egg--isn't gestation in small animals shorter than in large animals) would be normal/expected. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
georgialee Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 Here are some pics of the eggs I get from my girls :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angela in ohio Posted February 22, 2012 Share Posted February 22, 2012 -eggs that you buy from the store are washed in a bleach solution. The hens are packed side to side in tiny cages where they can hardly turn around and live on wire their entire lives. Our Leghorns were rescued from this. They are living in the lap of luxury here. They are our second batch of rescue chickens. When we first get them, they smush themselves into a corner up against the chicken wire for a few days. :sad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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