How do you handle/store your duck eggs?

[BrukeyBrooke]

I started raising ducks this year, for eggs and entertainment. I read somewhere (though now I don’t recall where) that chicken eggs stay the freshest when not washed but refrigerated. I’m in AZ, so counter top storage isn’t a great idea here much of the year. Most of the eggs I collect are pretty clean and go straight into the fridge in a reused carton. However, sometimes they’re pretty dirty, and I’m wondering about the best storage method for those eggs. I should note that I do wash them prior to use regardless of their cleanliness.

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

I don't wash mine unless they are really gross. If they have some poopy or other stuff, I brush it off with a dry paper towel. I pop mine in the fridge and wash before using. I only leave on the counter if I am gathering for hatching. Not for any reason other than I have more fridge than counter space. Two reasons, the bloom lets them last longer and is a bacteria barrier.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I do not wash mine and I leave them on the counter (in a pretty basket ). They last for several weeks that way. I like the texture of the cooked eggs from the counter better than the refridgerator.

 

[BrukeyBrooke]

Two follow-up questions: 1. If we’re eating them within a week, does that change anything? (Since we don’t “need” them to last longer.) and 2. Tell me more about the room temp cooking cheezenwhackers!

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Two follow-up questions: 1. If we’re eating them within a week, does that change anything? (Since we don’t “need” them to last longer.) and 2. Tell me more about the room temp cooking cheezenwhackers!

If you are eating them within a week there is no need to refrigerate. In fact, as you probably know, ducks only lay an egg a day until there nest is full, only then do they sit on the eggs to hatch them. So some of the eggs the ducklings are using for food are more than a week old and were kept warmer than our counter tops.

Whenever I have stored some of my eggs in the refrigerator, the white seems to get thicker. I suspect, since eggs are porous, that they lose water in our frost free refrigerators. When I cook with them then, they get more rubbery.

Here is an article you may like: https://www.businessinsider.com/why-europeans-dont-refrigerate-their-eggs-2018-4

 

[BrukeyBrooke]

If you are eating them within a week there is no need to refrigerate. In fact, as you probably know, ducks only lay an egg a day until there nest is full, only then do they sit on the eggs to hatch them. So some of the eggs the ducklings are using for food are more than a week old and were kept warmer than our counter tops.

Whenever I have stored some of my eggs in the refrigerator, the white seems to get thicker. I suspect, since eggs are porous, that they lose water in our frost free refrigerators. When I cook with them then, they get more rubbery.

Here is an article you may like: https://www.businessinsider.com/why-europeans-dont-refrigerate-their-eggs-2018-4

I’m going to ponder this.... my only hold up is that it gets hot enough here in the looooong summer that even with the air conditioner on, it can be as warm as 80 degrees F (26.7 C) in my kitchen, if not even a tad warmer from time to time. So “room temperature” is very different here.

 

[Terrellduckmom]

I do not wash mine and I leave them on the counter (in a pretty basket ). They last for several weeks that way. I like the texture of the cooked eggs from the counter better than the refridgerator.

Idk why but my duck eggs are in the pond more than not… I collect them first thing in the morning…. Sometimes they are laying in the yard… any idea why they are in the pond?

 

[Magnolia Ducks]

Cause ducks just poop it eggs wherever hey are. Its what they do. I don't let mine out of the coop before 9 when most eggs are laid. Still occasion?y I'll see them reach over in the kiddie pool for a drink and an egg falls out.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

Idk why but my duck eggs are in the pond more than not… I collect them first thing in the morning…. Sometimes they are laying in the yard… any idea why they are in the pond?

Are they locked up at night? If yes, you can leave them in the coop later.
Do you have nest boxes? If not, I use a couple of dish pans (one bus boy tub too) filled with pine shavings topped with hay. Fake eggs in the boxes also encourage them to lay there. Once they get used to it, they will even return to the coop to lay later in the day.