Washing before eating

[nuthatched]

Hey, this is interesting! Can you tell us how to pasteurize eggs? I assume this is something done in the shell?

I don't think it's feasible to do at home, you'd have to get *gasp* store eggs for it.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I don't think it's feasible to do at home, you'd have to get *gasp* store eggs for it.

Oh. Well, that ain't happening. Thanks anyway.

 

[nuthatched]

Oh. Well, that ain't happening. Thanks anyway.

I found you can do it at home!

I'm not sure how reliable home pasteurization is though.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Thanks!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Pretty cool.

 

[No Coop No Problem]

My chickens live outside 24/7 and sleep in trees. They lay eggs in holes in the ground, I never wash them, and I drink them raw. I've drank 37 at one time before. Zero issues whatsoever. The egg is a miracle of nature

 

[Yardmom]

Not all roosters are going to take after your kids. I have had dozens of roosters. 3 have shown signs of aggression. (One would come straight at humans who came near his hens. One danced and came at the backs of legs, and one just wouldn't back off on other roos) All others were/are no threat. My kids frequently carry around roosters.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I've had wonderful roosters and a couple not so good. I treated them all the same, which is to say, I pretty much ignored them and treated them exactly like chickens. You just never know. Current rooster is a gem, worth his weight in rubies.

 

[1sttimechickenmom]

Congrats on the eggs! It's so exciting when the magic starts happening!

Well... everybody's an expert, so you're going to get answers from A to Z, so you won't be any wiser after you read all the answers. You'll just have to decide what works best for you. Here's my thinking. As one respondent already pointed out, eggs need the bloom to protect them IF they are going to be under a hen, hatching. Gets pretty nasty under there, the egg needs all the protection it can get! In a clean carton in your fridge? Not so much. By all means wash it if it makes you feel better. It's still going to be fresh enough to eat for a couple of months, but is it really going to be in there that long? Nope! It's going to get eaten long before that!

Me? I wash before eating or selling, better safe than sorry. I put a little squirt of Dawn dish soap in a sink of warm water, give them just a quick dunk in an egg basket, then rinse quickly. If soiled, wipe with a damp paper towel, air dry and put in cartons. Oh... and I date each egg on the big end the day it's laid. That's so I know which ones are best for hard cooking - they peel best if at least two weeks old.

This is helpful...I didn't know about the two weeks for peeling. Excellent! Thanks!

 

[Mrs. K]

Really, this is a do as you want. Unless it is muddy, my eggs are pretty darn clean. If one is dirty, a brush will work, after all you don't eat the shell. If it is filthy, I wash and bake with it ASAP.

As to the rooster, the big question is the age of your kids. Roosters tend to attack children first, or an adult bent over or close to the ground. Just this morning, there is a post of an older man, with a bruise above his eye, and a scratch just below his eye, towards his nose...to damn close to the eye for me.

Young children, under the age of 6, tend to take the attack in the face. Roosters have ruined the whole chicken experience for a lot of people. Plus no damn bird is worth a child's face or eye.

IMO (and when you talk roosters, there are a lot of opinions) if the bird starts to exhibit aggressive signs - it is too late to do much. Almost 100% of the time, rooster aggression rises. Some people change their own behavior to keep him, but I would not try this with children.

My experience is 20 years with full size chickens.

Warning signs of aggression:

• Fluffing up to make himself look bigger when you come into the run.
• Excessive crowing when you come into the run
• Jumping up on something to make himself taller
• Walking right up to you. A lot of people think of this as being friendly, but it is a lack of fear, in the chicken world, fear equals respect. When any two chickens meet, one gives way - that is respect.
• Stink eye or glare
• sneaking around you to behind you. A lot of roosters will make this there first attack.

Watch him carefully around your kids, it is not uncommon in the beginning for him to act one way towards one person, and another way to someone he thinks he might be able to take on.

Good signs:

• he naturally moves away from you, about 4-6 feet. This is not a panicked movement, just a casual stepping back to give you more space.
• An exceptional rooster will move away from you, and his hens will gather behind him.
• His hens adore him, grass tastes better if he gives it to them.

Be honest how you and your family interact with the hens. If you are hands off, just watching them from afar, enjoying being outside doing a few chores each day, and getting fresh eggs. Keep the rooster.

If you love to hold your chickens, your children like to catch and carry the hens, the hens are considered more pets, than a hobby. Let the rooster go.

If you are in any doubt, let the rooster go ASAP. IMO, roosters take a great deal of experience, and a sharp knife for the ones that don't work out. A lot of roosters do not work out. Inexperienced people vastly underestimate how violent they can be.

You have years to enjoy this hobby. Starting with just a hen flock, and a year or two later, (your kids are bigger and also have more experience) add a rooster. Then try hatching chicks, nothing is more fun than a broody hen and chicks. Raising up meat birds is another thing to do. 4-H shows and egg entries are wonderful ways to expand this hobby. You don't have to do it all, or all this year.

Mrs K