My daughter found our first eggs this afternoon, nine of them! All blue. I thought I had been hearing that distinctive "egg" cackle this week. The girls are not using the nesting box we made for them. Because they don't like it or because they don't know what its for maybe? Have to find something to use as a fake egg to put in the box. Is there some way to tell from the outside if the eggs are still good? Pretty sure they weren't there last Sunday. One of the girls went missing, so we searched the yard, then the neighborhood, then the yard again, before we found her happily sitting behind a box on the patio. Who would have thought chickens are so exciting!
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Those eggs are good. Chicken eggs keep without refrigeration for days. A friend of mine forgot a carton of duck eggs once during the summer, left them outside on the porch. One day the peeping caught her attention from inside the carton.
To test the quality and freshness of raw eggs, put them in a glass of water. A fresh egg will stay firmly on the bottom of the glass while a bad egg rises to the top. If it just looks a little wobbly but still sinks, that egg is questionable. Like most eggs from the supermarket.
Put fake eggs or real old eggs (mark them) in the nest box. Make sure the nest box is shaded and comfortable, then you might have to lock the ladies up in a small area around the nest box for a few days. They will get the hint. If you don't, be prepared to hunt for eggs on top of the rabbit hutch, under the stairs, and various other places.
Couldn't remember if the eggs were supposed to sink or float, grin. Thank you also for the info on hawk proofing, though I'm not sure my acting is up to that standard!
Oh, that is exciting!! It will be like Easter every day at your place!! ;-) I'm still waiting for my first eggs--my hens are 4 months old so hopefully by Christmas!
Judy
I got my hens on April 29 at less than a week old, so that makes them just a bit over 5 months old. So hopefully you will have eggs sooner than Christmas!
Replies
Deb
To test the quality and freshness of raw eggs, put them in a glass of water. A fresh egg will stay firmly on the bottom of the glass while a bad egg rises to the top. If it just looks a little wobbly but still sinks, that egg is questionable. Like most eggs from the supermarket.
Put fake eggs or real old eggs (mark them) in the nest box. Make sure the nest box is shaded and comfortable, then you might have to lock the ladies up in a small area around the nest box for a few days. They will get the hint. If you don't, be prepared to hunt for eggs on top of the rabbit hutch, under the stairs, and various other places.
Couldn't remember if the eggs were supposed to sink or float, grin. Thank you also for the info on hawk proofing, though I'm not sure my acting is up to that standard!
Lis
Judy
I got my hens on April 29 at less than a week old, so that makes them just a bit over 5 months old. So hopefully you will have eggs sooner than Christmas!
Lis