EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FARM FRESH EGGS

Can a hen lay eggs without a rooster?

• Yes. A hen does not need a rooster to lay an egg, but the egg will not be fertilized and produce a chick.

How do you know if an egg is fertilized?

• You can candle an egg that a hen has been sitting on after a few days. This will show you if the egg was fertilized or not. Candling is taking a flashlight and shining the light through the shell into the egg to see if there is a chick forming inside.

Can you eat a fertilized egg?

• Yes. If the eggs are removed from the coop daily, then the chick has not started to form and they are fine to eat.

How should you wash eggs?

• Gently wash your eggs under luke warm running water. You can use a dish rag with a bit of a rough surface if your eggs are really dirty.

How should you store eggs?

• You can store farm fresh eggs on the counter for up to a month if they have not had their bloom washed off. The bloom is a protective coating that covers the shell of an egg. You can store eggs in the refrigerator for several months.

• You should store your eggs fat end up. This is because the wide end has an air pocket. Keeping the air pocket at the top helps keep the yolk centered and the egg fresher longer.

How can you tell if an egg is good or bad?

• To test freshness of eggs, submerge them in a bowl of water. If the egg lays flat at the bottom, it is fresh. If the egg turns up on its end but stays at the bottom, it is ok to eat but not very fresh. If the egg floats, it is bad.

   

Why are eggs different colors?

• Different breeds of chickens lay different colored eggs. They can be white, cream, tan, brown, blue, and green.

Are pasture raised eggs better for you than those that you buy from the grocery store?

• Yes! According to a study held by Mother Earth News, pasture raised eggs have:

  • 1/3 less cholesterol

  • 1/4 less saturated fat

  • 2/3 more vitamin A

  • Two times more omega-3 fatty acids

  • Three times more vitamin E

  • Seven times more beta carotene

How many eggs does a chicken lay and how often?

• This depends on the breed of chicken. Some will lay an egg almost every day while others will only lay a couple of eggs each week. Chickens tend to slow down laying through the Winter and pick back up in the Spring.

What is the red dot that you sometimes see in an egg?

• Many people think that if you crack open an egg and there is a red dot in it, that means that the egg has been fertilized. This is not true. The red dot is a blood spot caused by a small rupture in a blood vessel of the hen while she was laying the egg. The egg is still edible. You can just scrape out the blood spot if you would like.