Chicken Keeping: Cleaning and Storing Your Farm Fresh Eggs

You have backyard hens, they've FINALLY started laying, but now what?

 
Let's go back to the start. The average hen lays an egg every 25 hours in their prime egg-laying years. After a year or two of keeping up such a high production, their average drops to a few eggs a week.

Eggs are laid with a protective covering called a bloom. When you wash an egg, you are also removing this coating. Eggs are very porous making washing with the right temperature essential or you risk pushing bacteria from any manure into the eggshell. Washing also reduces their shelf life.  Some say it reduces it from 3 months {average shelf-life if stored in a 40 to 45-degree refrigerator} to about a month {stored in the same manner}, but we've found washed eggs to last more like 2 months or longer. Without the bloom the eggs begin to dry out at a quicker rate.

We try to maintain a nice amount of hay in the girls' nesting boxes. For the most part, this prevents the egg from cracking as it's laid as well as helps keep the eggs clean. There are times, however, that even though the bedding is full the eggs have dirt, yolk from a broken egg, or manure on them. 

How To Clean & Store Farm Fresh Eggs:

If the egg has straw, dirt, small bits of anything else stuck to it {which happens because the egg is still slightly moist when it is laid}, brush off what you can, store the egg either at room temp or in the refrigerator, and wash the egg right before use. 

If the egg is very dirty - manure, etc., you can either store it at room temperature and wash it before use or, the preferred method, is to wash it and store it in the refrigerator.

If you must wash the fresh eggs, use a temperature that's about 20 degrees warmer than the egg itself. This helps prevent the egg from cracking as well as the bacteria from entering through the porous shell.

How To Freeze Eggs
Did you know you can freeze eggs? The egg must be shelled and the yolk and white whisked together.  You can freeze them in silicone muffin cups or ice cube trays and then transfer the frozen cups or pucks to a freezer safe container or bag.

Some say to add either 1 teaspoon of salt or 1 Tablespoon of sugar mixed in {choice depends on if they'll be used for sweet or savory dishes}, but for short-term freezer storage (up to 4 months), we haven't found a need to add salt or sugar.

You can also separate your eggs and store egg whites and/or egg yolks. The egg whites can be stored in a freezer safe container without anything added. The egg yolks must be again mixed with either salt or sugar. For every 1 cup of egg yolks mix in either 1 teaspoon of salt or 1 Tablespoon of sugar. The salt and sugar prevent the egg from getting gummy.

Thaw the egg, egg yolk and/or egg white completely prior to use.

How To Do A Float Test On Eggs

What if you have eggs that have been in your refrigerator, and you aren't sure how long they've been in there or if they are any good? You can do a quick float test.

Place the egg in question in a glass of water. If it lies on its side at the bottom of the glass, it's fresh {there is little to no air cell}. If it touches the bottom of the glass but one end begins pointing upward, it's still good but needs to be used. If it floats it should be discarded.


One of the most common questions we are asked regarding our eggs is how to make hard-boiled eggs without losing the majority of the egg when peeling it. Because fresh eggs have little to no air cell in the egg, there is no space between the egg and the shell. As the egg ages, a small air cell will develop.

There are tons of ways others have suggested for boiling fresh eggs, but there is one way I've used since raising chickens that seems to work well for us. You can find it here.

Now you're ready for the egg production to swing into full gear!


Additional posts that may be of interest:
Why Do My Chickens Lay Thin or Soft-Shelled Eggs?
Wait....You Don't Need A Rooster?
When Will My Chickens Start Laying?  And Other Egg Laying Questions
Preventing Chickens From Eating/Pecking Eggs