Egg use and storage

[Chicketeer]

Hello!

I am new to chicken keeping and have had 3 SL Wyandotte bantams since July 2015 when they were 17 wks old. Have had the pleasure of them growing into beautiful, trusting, gentle birds.

They started laying in November and we have an egg or two nearly every day. One of the hens went broody on New Year's Day but 48 hours in the wire crate in our outbuilding with plenty of light dissuaded her and she is now back laying.

Before I realised she was broody, she had sat on a couple of eggs from the day before from late afternoon until the next morning and when I found them under her they were really hot. My question probably sounds stupid and shows my inexperience but are these eggs still OK to use having been so hot and then stored in a box in our outbuilding at about 10° for a couple of weeks until ready to use them or should I have used them sooner? I use the eggs in order of lay and these are next in line for a baking session! Any reassurance would be very welcome. Thanks

 

[dinosaw]

Hello Chicketeer and welcome to the forum.

In the case of any eggs which have been sat on I give them priority for eating and because I normally have a large excess of eggs if in doubt I chuck them. Having said that with regards to the ones you have they will probably be ok given the length of time they were sat on and if in doubt give them a bit of a smell when you crack them, if they smell ok they will be ok, if you think you are going to worry though then it's only a couple of eggs so not too much of a loss if you bin them.

 

[Marigold]

Hi Chickateer, and welcome from me, too.
What a nice problem to have, in winter time, when many of our flocks are only just getting going on laying again. I agree with Dinosaw, use them if they seem OK when cracked, as anyway in a baked cake any bacteria will be killed by the high oven temperature. But if you have a dog, the occasional cracked or otherwise surplus raw egg is very welcome, and is nourishing and good for the coat. Or, if you're giving your hens a nice warm damp mash at teatime in this cold weather, you can just mix up the eggs and add them to the mash as a valuable protein supplement.

 

[Chicketeer]

Hello both and thank you for the valuable advice.

I have lots of eggs at the moment so will probably set the questionable ones aside and bake with the fresher ones. I am giving the hens a warm mash at teatime so they can be in with a treat instead.

 

[Marigold]

Warm damp mashes are really helpful in the afternoons when it's freezing, as they help the hens to keep hydrated as well as filling their crops before the long winter nights. It's not much fun for them when the water's very cold, even if it's still just about liquid, and they may not want to drink enough if they only have dry food and very cold water. Although they do prefer chilled water when it's hot in summer, they all come round and drink a lot when I bring down warm water for them in the morning, though.