When you first start learning how to keep chickens and get your flock up and running, you’ll quickly learn to notice the abundance and sheer quantity of eggs you can get from the little beauties. It’s incredibly exciting! So, once you’ve got them…what do you do with all those gorgeous, freshly laid eggs? This is one of the most common questions that most chicken owners will ask.
In this article, you will learn how to store your chicken’s eggs once they are laid and other related topics.
What Is The Egg Bloom?
Egg bloom is a natural phenomenon that occurs when an egg is exposed to air. If you’ve ever cracked open an egg and seen a white film on the yolk or white, then you’ve seen it. It’s caused by a reaction between the iron in the yolk and the carbon dioxide in the air, which creates a protective layer over the surface of the yolk. This layer can help prevent bacteria from entering your egg and growing inside of it.
How Egg Bloom Helps Your Eggs Last Longer
The white film can also help prevent moisture loss in your eggs and prevent your eggs from going bad as quickly. Eggs will last longer when they have been properly sealed with this protective layer, which means that you won’t need to worry about them spoiling as quickly. This is especially true if you’re not planning on using all of your eggs at once — simply re-seal any open containers after cracking them open and place them back into the fridge!
How to Store Chicken Eggs
Storing Fresh Eggs At Room Temperature
Eggs stay fresh for about three weeks at room temperature if you store them correctly. This means storing them in their original carton and placing the carton in a refrigerator set at 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) or below. Keep eggs away from other foods in the refrigerator so that they don’t absorb odors or flavors from other foods.
In addition to storing them correctly, make sure your eggs are cooked within two hours after purchasing them because this will ensure that they’re safe to eat.
If you’re unsure of how long an egg has been out of refrigeration, throw it out immediately — don’t take a chance of getting sick! If it’s been less than two hours since purchase, put it back in the fridge until you’re ready to cook it; if more than two hours have passed, discard it.
Storing Fresh Eggs in the Fridge
Eggs should be stored in the refrigerator, but not in the door. The door is too warm and can cause the egg to sweat and develop bacteria.
Place your eggs in the back of your refrigerator, where it is coldest.
If you have a hard time finding room for all those eggs in your refrigerator, store them on their sides in a carton or basket. This will help keep them from rolling around as much as they would otherwise.
Covering your eggs with plastic wrap or storing them in egg cartons (which are made from recycled paper) will also help reduce the chances of bacteria forming on the outside of your eggs.
How to Store Eggs Long Term
Eggs are a great addition to any diet. They’re packed with protein and other nutrients, and they’re an inexpensive source of protein. The biggest problem with storing eggs long term is that they can become rancid because of their high-fat content. But if you store your eggs properly, they’ll last for months — even years — without any problems at all.
Here are some tips for storing eggs long term:
Don’t wash the eggs before storing them. Washing them will remove the protective cuticle on the shell, causing the eggs to lose moisture faster than normal. Once that happens, it becomes easier for bacteria to enter the egg through its porous shell and cause it to spoil more quickly than usual.
Keep your eggs in their carton when storing them in your refrigerator or pantry. If you put them in a bowl or basket, you increase the chance of cracking one open by mistake (which is not only messy but also makes it easier for bacteria to get inside).
Keep your eggs stored on their side rather than upright so that air doesn’t get trapped inside them (this increases the chance of spoilage). And don’t keep them anywhere near an open window or outside the door where the temperature fluctuates wildly during different seasons of the year.
Covering Your Eggs in a Magic Coating
If you have a lot of eggs, you should consider covering them in a magic coating. It’s an easy way to keep them fresh for up to 6 months. This method only works for natural eggs, not for pasteurized eggs.
A magic coating is a substance that you can spray on your eggs to prevent them from absorbing moisture and air. This keeps them fresher longer, so they don’t spoil as quickly as they normally would. The coating also prevents dirt and other contaminants from sticking to the shell, which helps keep your eggs clean and free of bacteria.
You can create your own magic coating by mixing 1 tablespoon of cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of water and spraying it onto your eggs before storing them in their cartons or jars. You’ll need to reapply this coating every few weeks because it will eventually wear off when exposed to air or humidity
If you don’t want to make your own magic coating, you can buy commercially made versions at most grocery stores and supermarkets. They usually come in small spray bottles or tubes like lip gloss.
How Long Do Chicken Eggs Last?
If you have a lot of eggs in your refrigerator and you don’t know how long they’re good for, it’s time to learn.
Most eggs sold in grocery stores are packed with an expiration date, but egg cartons can be tricky. There are different types of dates on the carton, and those dates can mean different things. To really understand how long eggs last, you need to read between the lines.
The “Sell By” Date Is About Quality
The first date listed on a carton of eggs is generally the sell-by date. This date is not about safety; it’s about freshness. By law, all commercially packaged foods must display a sell-by date so that retailers can control inventory rotation and prevent overstocking products in their stores.
The sell-by date indicates that if consumers want the freshest possible product, they should purchase the product before this date passes. Most people use this date as a guide for when they should stop buying that particular brand of product before it spoils or loses its quality.
The “Use By” Date Is About Safety
The “use by” date is a quality standard. It tells you how long a product will retain its peak quality — in this case, how long an egg will keep fresh. The “sell by” date is a quality and safety standard. It tells you how long the store can display eggs for sale, but it does not indicate when the product will go bad.
How to Check If an Egg Is Bad
It’s important to know how to check if an egg is bad, and how to store eggs properly so they stay fresh longer. Here are some tips on how to tell if your eggs are still good.
Check the date on the carton
Check the date on the carton. The expiration date on an egg carton is usually 30 days after it was packed. If you have a lot of eggs in your refrigerator, check the production date instead of the expiration date. Eggs produced during certain times of year may taste better than others, but they all keep well during storage.
Look at their appearance
Eggs can be stored at room temperature for up to three weeks from the packing date or as long as five weeks if refrigerated in their original carton with the lid left off. If you store them at room temperature without refrigeration, check them daily for signs of spoilage because they will deteriorate more quickly than those that are refrigerated or frozen. As long as your eggs look good and smell fine, they are probably safe to eat — but not necessarily safe from salmonella contamination!
Do the Float Test
If you are wondering if an egg is bad, it is important to know how to tell the difference between fresh eggs and bad eggs. The easiest way to do this is by using the float test.
The float test for eggs can be done in two ways:
Fill a bowl half full of water. Place the egg on its side on the surface of the water. If it floats, it means that it has gone bad and should not be eaten. If it sinks to the bottom of the bowl, then it is still good to eat.
Take a large bowl full of water and put an egg in it. If you see any bubbles coming out from either end, then it means that there is air in the egg which indicates that there is something wrong with it. If there are no bubbles coming out from either end, then your egg might be fine but you still need to check it further before eating it because sometimes bubbles can form later on when cooking or frying an egg if there was some kind of crack present when you bought them or when storing them at home.
Conclusion
When it comes to storing fresh eggs, there are quite a few ways of doing it. Knowing how to properly handle and store your chicken’s eggs once they are laid, it will help keep them fresh for quite a long time.
