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12:18 pm
April 13, 2010
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Hi! I'm new to your site and am absolutely loving it! We have 25 Araucana (Easter Egg) chickens that lay eggs in beautiful shades of blue, green, pink, and beige. I would love to be able to leave a basket full on the counter, but I am not sure how long I can safely do that. Any suggestions?
12:23 pm
December 28, 2008
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Not so sure about the real answer to your question, debbie, but I would be tempted to do the pin prick in the shell to remove the egg, then leave some of the beautiful shells out as a decoration…
1:32 pm
February 10, 2009
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I don't refrigerate my eggs unless I'm forced to wash them due muddy weather or messy hens.
Washing them removes the "bloom" which is a natural film they have when the hen layes them. As long as the bloom isn't washed off, it protects them from bacteria infiltrating the shell, though I do think that extreme dirt negates it too so If I do wash them and I'm not going to use them right away, then I refrigerate them.
If they are clean from the nest, I just wipe them with a kitchen towel, then leave them in a bowl to admire and use for easily a week, up to two I'd say but they rarely sit that long. I very much prefer room temp for most cooking/baking uses. As a carton fills which will be for giving to a neighbor or for sale, I mostly I keep them in the cool basement.
I grew up this way, and I spent time in Europe where eggs aren't refrigerated in stores either, and I'm here to tell about it 50+ years later! 
My hens have nice clean nests with clean shavings in them and I gather eggs frequently so they don't usually get very dirty at all.
1:47 pm
April 13, 2010
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Thanks to you both for your replies! I had heard about the "bloom" on eggs, but wasn't sure. Since you are still here, it must be true . I prefer room temp eggs to bake with as well, hence, my question. We have just begun the homesteading experience, so I will probably have lots of questions! Is there a limit to the number of questions before I wear out my welcome? haha.
I love the idea of removing the eggs and saving the shells. I am actually planning to do this, at some point. What would you suggest to use as a hardener so they don't break as easily?
1:54 pm
December 28, 2008
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Hahaha on the limit to questions!! 
If there is one, we haven't found it yet! If you have a question, there are probably several others with the same question, so ask away.
As for hardening the eggs, not sure what is available these days. It's been many years since we did that in school, and then we just used something like shellac, which really isn't all that hard. There are bound to be some polymers around today that would do a much better job of it.
2:19 pm
February 8, 2009
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For what it's worth, I learned years ago that a day out at room temp = a week in the frig. Now, before anyone freaks – eggs you buy in the grocery and retail stores are easily 6 to 10 weeks old+. Now you can freak :)
This info is great when you want to hard boil fresh eggs and actually be able to peel them – leave them out on the counter a couple of days before cooking.
dede
sooo happy to again have fresh eggs – thanks to my friend/fellow 'chicken' here !
2:21 pm
April 13, 2010
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Thanks wvhomecanner!!! That was another question I had…why can't I peel eggs without them breaking apart?
2:31 pm
February 10, 2009
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Yep, leaving them sit a few days works, but this is how I have learned to do it even if they're eggs you gathered this morning!
Get the water boiling first – rapid boil. Add a dash of salt.
Gently lower eggs in with slotted spoon and keep the water boiling. 14
minutes later drain and put in cold water so they are cool enough to
handle. Peel.
The eggs practically roll out of the shell even if you just got them
out of the nest that day. VERY easy. Some people say to shock them in
icy water after, but I don't do that, just run cold tap water over so
they can be handled.
5:34 pm
June 29, 2009
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Now that we have fresh eggs – I am amazed at how long they last. I can't believe how old store bought eggs are. I've been steaming my fresh eggs instead of hard boiling them. I've been getting good results. But I may start letting them sit on the counter for a day before boiling.
5:41 pm
October 17, 2008
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I can't wait to have fresh eggs!!!! August hopefully!
6:14 pm
September 6, 2009
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Cindy—you will LOVE fresh eggs!!! It just feels so right when you gather them up, just like little edible gems. My kids always say they taste better than the store eggs.
Debbie—I am in awe that you have that many Aracauna's. A friend has some and I love when she shares her extras–they are so beautiful. A friend gave us an EE chick last month and I am looking forward to her laying pretty eggs.
6:22 pm
February 8, 2009
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When I made my first batch of mayonaise, the recipe told me get some fresh eggs…so I run to the chickencoop and gathered the eggs (ok i do that everyday)
Then the next line in the recipe said….eggs can be called fresh up to 28 days..and yes I freaked.
Anyway….I'm from europe..and yes in the stores the eggs are not cooled…HOWEVER, if you put them in the fridge …you have to keep them in the fridge.
What they told me..when you put them in the fridge..the pores open…and taking them out and leaving them out..they warm up. but the pores don't close.
Don't know if that is true, but this is what my mother told me..and sometimes I listen to her.
And BE are you really boiling your eggs for 14 minutes? aren't they green??
But your right…my fresh eggs peel easy too…it is the cooling I think?
6:57 pm
February 10, 2009
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Yes, … well 13 actually, but because they aren't in there during the 'warming up time', they just get put in after the water is boiling, they seem fine. I pull them out a little early because I like them not totally hard… but no, never green. If you started them in cold water, THEN boiled for the full time, yes, they would be green I think.
With store bought eggs, I put them in cool water, bring them to a boil, then turn it off, cover and leave for 13 minutes, but with really fresh eggs that won't work.
8:46 pm
March 22, 2010
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I was working at a grocery store when they changed the law to require eggs to be refrigerated. Up until then our store had set them out at room temperature. I was kind of pooh-poohing the whole thing, because after all, I'd been buying room temperature eggs my whole life, but then someone explained that with the modern factory-farmed eggs the shells were thinner and more porous, allowing germs to pass through more easily. Plus, in the large factory farms there is more salmonella around. So the laws were changed to reflect the changes in the eggs.
I would think that the shells of your own home-raised eggs, from chickens given plenty of healthy feed and allowed to run around and scratch, would be like the old-fashioned eggs, and it would be safe to keep them at room temperature for a week or two.
7:35 am
March 25, 2010
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wvhomecanner said:
eggs you buy in the grocery and retail stores are easily 6 to 10 weeks old+. Now you can freak :)
6-10 weeks old?!!? HOLY COW!!! Don't I feel like a ninny being concerned
that sometimes we have eggs from our girls that sit for a 2-3 weeks in
the fridge before I get to them!
7:48 am
August 30, 2008
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If you put your questionable eggs in a pan of water and the egg floats, it is no good, if it sinks, it should still be good.
6:11 pm
November 8, 2008
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CATRAY44 said:
If you put your questionable eggs in a pan of water and the egg floats, it is no good, if it sinks, it should still be good.
I read that this method works because as the eggs age and the pores open, more air enters the shell which causes the floating. It really is a good method to test for old eggs.
If I have some old eggs, I hard boil them, shell them and feed them to the dog. If the dog will chew on a piece of road kill then I don't think a hard boiled "old" egg will kill the dog. (Never had any problems with the dog.)
11:39 pm
March 22, 2010
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CATRAY44 said:
If you put your questionable eggs in a pan of water and the egg floats, it is no good, if it sinks, it should still be good.
A lot of the store-bought eggs I get start to float when I put them in water. Eeuuw. Better not think about that too much.
11:55 pm
February 10, 2009
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heh, most of them will 'lift up' a little on the end with the air sack, even if they're super fresh. If they come up off the bottom of the bowl a little (say an inch or so), just use them up very soon. If they come up more than that inch or so, use them REALLY fast. If they come up more than half way up the bowl, I'd boil them up or scramble them and feed them to the dogs, pigs or chickens because as Cousin Sheryl said, dogs have far from delicate stomachs, and furthermore, pigs truly will eat anything, and chickens are tiny velociraptors that will also eat anything and then start in on the pig if they could only figure out how to do it.
Truly spoiled-rotten eggs will bob right up to the surface and I wouldn't even feed them to the dogs because they'd smell so bad I'd lose it!
2:26 pm
April 12, 2010
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I got fresh eggs for the first time this week, and this was my question. It's good to have a place where I can get such questions answered. I facebooked this info! What? I thought it was good info! lol I'm afraid if I left my eggs out, though, the cats would get them. In fact, I know they would. 
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