Egg-ducation 🥚

When you own 40+ chickens, you get asked lots of questions.

Questions like…

• How many eggs do you get daily?

• Do you have to wash fresh eggs?

• How long do eggs keep?

• What do you feed your chickens?

• Since you have a rooster, are you eating fertilized eggs?

• How are your eggs so colorful?

• Do you sell your eggs?

• Why do you have so many chickens?

This blog post is dedicated to answering the most commonly asked questions us chicken owners (or chicken tenders, if you will) are asked. Allow me to egg-ducate you…

“How many eggs do you get daily?”

Typically, we get anywhere from 30 to 36 eggs a day. We currently have 38 laying hens and 3 roosters. Most of our hens lay one egg a day, with the exception of a handful of breeds who are not as high on the egg production scale as others—those breeds lay an egg every other day or so.

“Do you have to wash fresh eggs?”

The short answer is… nope!

As a chicken lays its egg, the egg gets coated with a protective layer called the “bloom” on the way out. The bloom is a natural, nearly invisible outer coating which keeps air and bacteria out of the egg, since eggs are otherwise porous. Washing an egg removes the bloom. As long as you don’t wash your eggs until right before cooking them, there is no need to refrigerate, as they are sealed!

With that being said, it is still recommended to use your eggs within a month if choosing to store them at room temperature. After that, they should be placed in the fridge, and will still be good for around another month. Keep in mind, washed eggs must be kept refrigerated.

“How long do eggs keep?”

As mentioned above, fresh eggs keep for months. Unwashed eggs last much longer than washed eggs. Unwashed eggs kept at room temperature will last at least a month, and up to three months or more if kept in the refrigerator. Washed eggs will last at least two months in the refrigerator but won’t taste as fresh as unwashed eggs of the same age. Remember, washed eggs must be kept refrigerated.

Even though fresh eggs keep a long time, keep in mind, the fresher the egg, the better it tastes. So don’t let them sit around too long!

“What do you feed your chickens?”

Our chickens get a special mixture of feed designed especially for laying hens, including corn, oats, soybean meal (for protein), and other nutrients, supplements, and herbs, such as oregano which is a natural antibiotic. We also feed the chickens crushed oyster shells which is a great source of calcium to help keep their egg shells strong. Grit, which is essentially very small rocks, is a necessary addition to a chicken’s diet. Chickens need to consume grit which helps them break down and digest their food. Additionally, our chickens get lots of “treats” from the kitchen—mainly table scraps, veggies, berries, and leftovers. Since our chickens free range, they have the ability to forage for their own snacks—grass, bugs, worms, mice, you name it, they’ll eat it.

“Since you have a rooster, are you eating fertilized eggs?”

We sure are!

But don’t fret, we aren’t eating developed little chicken babies. In fact, there is quite the science behind a chick being able to grow inside of an egg. To put it simply, in order for a chick to develop inside of a fertilized egg, the egg must be kept between 99-102 degrees Fahrenheit with a relative humidity between 50-65% for 21 days. I don’t know about you, but I sure don’t keep our house that toasty, and in addition, we hand pick our eggs daily, preventing any hen from attempting to lay on and begin development inside of an egg. So even eggs left on the counter will not start growing chicks—they will remain a normal ‘ole egg.

Bonus fact: Many people claim that fertilized eggs have a “red spot” in the yolk that’s visible when you crack it into a frying pan or mixing bowl. This is an old-wives-tale. Occasionally, you will get an egg with a red spot—or blood spot/meat spot. This is caused by the rupture of a blood vessel on the yolk surface when it’s being formed. This is completely normal and common, and the egg is still fit for eating. This happens in both fertilized and non-fertilized eggs.

“How are your eggs so colorful?”

Each breed of chicken lays a specific colored egg. For example, Marans chickens lay dark, chocolate brown eggs. Ameraucana chickens lay beautiful blues. And if you cross a dark brown egg laying breed with a blue laying breed, the offspring will be green layers, known as Olive Eggers. Each chicken will lay the same colored egg its entire life (with slight variances over time). We have over 11 different breeds of chickens, giving us good diversity in our egg colors.

Here’s the science behind the egg rainbow:

All eggs start out white in color. Eggs that are laid in shades other than white have pigments deposited on them as the eggs travel through the hen’s oviduct. Blue laying breeds, such as the Ameraucana, have the pigment “oocyanin” deposited on the egg as it travels through the oviduct. This pigment permeates the egg shell, resulting in the interior and exterior of the egg being the same blue color. Brown laying breeds, such as Marans, deposit the pigment “protoporphyrin” on the eggs late in the process of forming the shell. The pigment therefore does not penetrate the interior of the egg, but only tints the surface of the egg (remember the bloom?), which is why brown eggs are white on the interior, and you can actually scratch off the brown color if you aren’t careful. In the case of an Olive Egger, a brown pigment overlays a blue egg shell, resulting in a green egg!

“Do you sell your eggs?”

You betcha!

We sell our fresh free range eggs by the dozen or half dozen, and have both eating and fertile hatching eggs available for purchase. Swing by our Eggs page for more details or to place an order!

“Why do you have so many chickens?”

To be honest, I hate being asked this question… haha. In short, it’s a hobby, outlet, addiction, and side hustle.

The fact that they come in so many varieties—colors of eggs and birds—make it difficult to not want them all. Just like a collection of anything else. The majority of hatcheries have a 3 bird per breed minimum order. So, if I wanted a specific breed of chicken, I had to order 3 of them rather than 1. That adds up quick lol.

Additionally, being able to provide friends, family, colleagues, and strangers with a superior quality product of egg (opposed to store-bought) really makes one feel good. In order to do this, you need a surplus of product to fulfill the demand. We rarely have extra eggs laying around (even though we get 3 dozen per day), and anything left over gets repurposed as dog food, cat food, and additional protein fed back to the chickens.

For what ever reason, I find joy in raising these feathery little creatures. So… is it okay to just say, “Because they make me happy?”   ♡

Have other questions that weren’t discussed in this post? Leave a comment below and ask away!