We are overrun with eggs! Less than a month ago we had people asking us for eggs and had none to give. Now I am having a hard time keeping up with them long enough to crate them up and give them away, let alone get things situated well enough to sell them! My whole kitchen table is filled with eggs!
The chickens have ramped up production from less than 2 eggs a day about a month ago to 8-10 a day now. Considering that we have 15 hens, the numbers could be a bit better, but I already have no place to put them all! Keegan and I (mainly my wonderful son, Keegan) did a deep cleaning on the chicken coop over the weekend so the girls have a much cleaner, healthier place to live and lay. This really helps with the cleanliness of the eggs since the girls don't have dirty feet walking around in the nest. I don't wash my eggs because it removes the protective bloom and allows bacteria to enter the egg. Washed eggs also have to be refrigerated while unwashed eggs can be stored at room temperature. Dirty chicken feet mean dirty eggs that can't be sold.
Another source of our egg overabundance is the guineas! They have been laying for about 2 weeks now. Of course, they don't have a coop so finding the eggs is a bit more difficult. Keegan has been doing a great job of finding the nests and collecting the eggs. It hasn't been too awfully hard though. The guineas really aren't that bright. They have started several nests right in the middle of the yard. Out in the open with no cover at all. From time to time I will find a random egg laying the yard like the guinea just squatted where it was, laid an egg, and then went on with its day like nothing happened. Because there really isn't any way of knowing how long ago their eggs have been laid since they move their nest every time one is found, we have not eaten any of their eggs. I am really fighting hard the urge to put them in my incubator though! I am not interested in having more guineas than the 10 I already have, but I really love hatching babies! It is kinda like an addiction. I need to see if there is anyone close to me interested in buying guinea keets so I have an excuse.
My turkeys have been mating for a few weeks now, but sadly I have yet to find an egg. Those eggs I know I can incubate and sell. They won't be sitting around on the table wanting for a use. That's how it usually works...
In the mean-time the animals will soon be having a smorgasbord of scrambled eggs to clear the dirty eggs off of my kitchen table and get a clean start. It makes me really miss the pigs! They were happy with raw eggs. The rest of them are a bit more picky. Oh well :) Good unprocessed nutrients, vitamins, and protein. Better than store bought feed any day!
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