First egg!!! Now what?

[kcan2]

My hen laid her very first egg ever today! This was all very exciting as I am a new chicken owner and she is my first hen...but now I have questions!

1. What happens if I leave it? My rooster already "put it back to bed" in the pine shavings; he dug it a little hole.
2. How long can it stay out in the coop before it goes bad?
3. Is she likely to incubate it if it is her first egg or if it is unfertilized?
4. Is it weird to be kinda weirded out about eating it? It seems more like a trophy, not a hors d'oeuvres...

Thanks, all! I'm glad I have somewhere to share where others are so helpful and caring!

 

[Folly's place]

Don't leave it out there! It will get dirty, and it is a trophy!
You actually could blow it out and paint it as a very expensive FIRST EGG, or put it in the frig and eat it, with more to come soon.
Mary

 

[EggWalrus]

I'd just eat it. I know it's the first one for her, but she's a chicken and chickens lay eggs, she's gonna lay hundreds, maybe thousands in her life. I may not be a chicken hawk, but I still eat chickens, and love eating chicken eggs too!

 

[gtaus]

Congrats on that first egg. I took a picture of my first egg and then ate it in a ham, egg, and cheese breakfast bagel. Best tasting breakfast bagel ever....

Not all hens/breeds go broody, and if they do, they usually gather up about 10 eggs in a clutch before they nest on them. I would not expect a young hen to go broody at this point. Also, I would not leave eggs on the pine shavings on the floor. If you don't have a nest box, get one right away. If the egg gets broken in the coop, the chickens will eat it. After they discover how good those eggs taste, they might consider it a bonus meal for them every time a new egg is laid. You don't want that.

In theory, eggs can be left out on the counter for a few weeks as long as you don't wash off the natural bloom from the hen laying the egg. But if you leave the egg in the coop, especially on the floor, it has a good chance of being broken and eaten by your chickens.

Again, congratulations on that first egg!

 

[kcan2]

Don't leave it out there! It will get dirty, and it is a trophy!
You actually could blow it out and paint it as a very expensive FIRST EGG, or put it in the frig and eat it, with more to come soon.
Mary

Thanks, Mary! I will comfort myself with the hopes of more soon! I was certainly surprised that she started laying in the dead of winter, but it was a great pre-Christmas surprise!

I'd just eat it. I know it's the first one for her, but she's a chicken and chickens lay eggs, she's gonna lay hundreds, maybe thousands in her life. I may not be a chicken hawk, but I still eat chickens, and love eating chicken eggs too!

Thanks for the support! I will get it out of the coop and become a chicken hawk myself!

Congrats on that first egg. I took a picture of my first egg and then ate it in a ham, egg, and cheese breakfast bagel. Best tasting breakfast bagel ever....

Thank you gtaus! I'm sure that any residual guilty feelings I may have will dissipate after that first bite of breakfast bagel! I certainly wouldn't want the chickens to get the jump on me in regards to egg-snatching. I think I will offer the proud parents a leftover pancake to replace their little work of art.

 

[RaZ]

First eggs are always a wonderful gift. I started with chickens about 10 years ago and when I got my first egg I fried it up and ate. Best tasting egg ever!

Even now I'm excited to get that first egg from my new pullets.

How many chickens do you have? Are they all about the same age? You could be on the verge of getting a steady supply of eggs.

 

[EggWalrus]

It really is a special feeling that you get when you've had one as a baby, helped it grow up and it finally starts to lay!
Just wait till one of yours goes broody and hatches her first chicks, it's a truly magical experience!

 

[sourland]

Fried, over easy with sourdough toast. Congratulations.

 

[TooCheep]

I was a little hesitant to eat my first egg as well. Somehow it seemed different, but in the end it is just an egg. Just one with more emotional "baggage" because you actually raised the chickens and because you now have experience with where it comes from.

Just break the ice and eat that first one. Say "thank you" to the girls if you want when you collect them. You will get over the hump and will be able to treat them as just eggs thereafter. Congrats on your first one!

PS- Nice looking birds.

 

[Ridgerunner]

1. What happens if I leave it? My rooster already "put it back to bed" in the pine shavings; he dug it a little hole.

Don't leave it, I think why has been covered. Besides, leaving it can possibly attract egg eating predators.

2. How long can it stay out in the coop before it goes bad?

If it stays clean, is not incubated, and nothing gets it, months. When the pullet or hen lays an egg the last thing she puts on it is a liquid layer that quickly dries that we call bloom. That is really good at keeping bacteria out. The cause of it going bad is when bacteria gets inside that porous egg. That's why a hen can hide a nest, lay eggs for two weeks, then incubate them for three and them never going bad.

3. Is she likely to incubate it if it is her first egg or if it is unfertilized?

A hen does not know if it is fertilized or not. She will incubate it but get no results. Having a rooster around does not cause one to go broody. Not having a rooster around does not prevent one from going broody. many hens never go broody. While it can happen it is pretty unusual for a pullet just starting to lay to go broody. Extremely rare.


4. Is it weird to be kinda weirded out about eating it? It seems more like a trophy, not a hors d'oeuvres...

Oh, just eat it. Isn't that why you got chickens? If you want a trophy poke a small hole in each end, blow the egg out, and eat it. Rinse the egg's insides and dry it, then decorate it as a Christmas ornament. It's a good time of the year for that.