Mike said...
Thanks for the mention, Lana. Since I've run across your blog, I too, have taken up researching chickens.
Something else I found out about egg size is some chickens lay small, some medium, etc., It all depends on the breed as to what size they lay. We'll just learn together as your chickens develop and mature how big yours are going to be.
One day soon, I'll probably break down and get some chickens, too. I'm looking more into silkies for selling other than layers. But, I do like the looks of a golden laced wyandotte. So, who knows what I'll end up with. Knowing me, both, I'm sure.
As for eggs at Walmart, unfortunately I've work for them both as an associate and now as a vendor. Their coolers temps fluctuate quite a bit and I wouldn't be surprised if they haven't sweated a time or two before they're sold. Not to mention how long a stocker will allow them to sit outside the coolers before placing them in the floor coolers. I have a favor to ask. I like the idea of a chicken tractor and wonder if you'd take a couple pics of the inside of yours. I've looked and can't seem to find any pics allowing me to get a good view. Particularly, the bottom. Also, does the run have wire on the bottom or is it open to the ground? I've seen em both ways and am just curious.
This comment is more like a post. I'll not post anything on my blog yet. I still have to sell Susan on the idea. She caught me looking at pics and joined in. So, I think she's on board. ;)
Charade said...
I'm with LindaG on this one. My grandmother, great aunts and the old ranch woman who taught me how to bake bread (ooh, too bad those lessons didn't stick) all kept their eggs hanging in those wire baskets, unrefrigerated, and nobody ever got sick from them. Of course that was before the days of humongous factory farms laden with antibiotic-treated feed, thinner shells and runnier albumin. Who knows now what the answer should be.
Rae said...
Huh. The yolks in our eggs are orange, as opposed to the bright yellow of store eggs. As for "freshness", here's what my friend told me about her chickens. She said that a hard boiled egg that is easy to peel is old. As eggs age, moisture evaporates through the shell, causing there to be more air IN the shell, thus the easy peel. You can test how old an egg is by how it floats... Older eggs will float to the top. (ex from online search, fresh sink, 1-wk tilt up, couple weeks sit sorta vertical, several weeks+ float). She said that in order to have anywhere near an easy-peel egg from her chickens, they had to be at least a couple weeks old. So... Every easy-peel egg from the store when you're making deviled eggs... How gross is that?
I read this post earlier and Linda's comment about the julian date intrigued me. I just looked at my latest purchased eggs and it appears the julian date is 134, 14 May. The sell by is: 11 Jun. Today is: 1 Aug. I know I don't use eggs too often but, these suckers have been out and a bout for 2 1/2 months? I should hard boil em so I won't have any trouble peeling them and then throw them in the trash ;)
I belong to a couple of chicken groups and the question of storage came up a little bit ago. There were people that said they'd kept their eggs for 4 week on the counter, a little longer in the fridge. What is bad is to cool the eggs and then take them out, as you noticed.
Remember before refrigeration, eggs were collected and kept in a bowl on the table. Also, many of them don't wash eggs until just before use, unless really dirty.
Ever since the egg thing at the 'factory farms', one thing I've educated myself on is how to read the egg cartons. ( http://fooddemocracy.wordpress.com/2008/03/03/who-knew-cracking-the-egg-carton-code/) The date they were 'packaged' is a julian date. I don't pay any attention to the sell by date any more. If I can't read a julian date, they are automatically out. If I can read the julian date, then I pick the one with the date closest to the actual julian date. (I have an app on my phone that tells me, because my memory fails, haha!) Sometimes I'll shop a couple of different stores to find the freshest eggs possible, because yes, the odds are they are still quite old. I can tell when I cook them.
Another thing I have seen on the groups is that yolk color is dependent upon what the chickens eat. And your yolks should actually be much darker than the pale store-bought eggs. Probably closer to orange since your chickens forage in the back yard.
Lucky you! I am so happy for you all, Lana. Look forward to hearing about your first meal with your eggs. :)