Day 599 Eggs

 

Fresh eggs are the best and fortunately with spring rolling in my girls production has already started to increase. While I was away, Tim continued to collect the eggs each day but hasn't eaten one since he was three years old. He blames his egg hatred on his mother (aren't moms always blamed) since she fed him a soft boiled egg and he threw up. Ever since that day he won't even consider eating an egg of any kind. Well, he's missing out! These fresh eggs are delicious and packed with protein, the perfect food for sure. I'll be hosting a big Easter breakfast and cooking up a couple dozen eggs for the crew and of course,  pancakes for my non-egg eating husband. Whenever I give friends fresh eggs, they are amazed that they don't need to be refrigerated. So, of course I explain all the dos and don't of fresh eggs as if I'm an expert. You can leave them on the counter as long as you don't wash them, once washed they need to be refrigerated. Other countries sell eggs off shelves, I suppose that's how you know for sure they are fresh! One of the big misconceptions is that chickens stop laying in the winter due to cold, it's the amount of light that inspires them to lay. Once spring is here they start producing more due to the extended daylight hours and by summer they are all laying in full force. Of course, you can put a light inside their coop throughout the winter to trick them into laying more through the dark season, but since chickens have a finite amount of eggs within their lifetime, you'd only be condensing their laying years.  I let mine lay or not lay naturally and have found I have at least two or three that will produce all year round regardless of conditions. Once I start to see five or six eggs I know spring is here and soon I'll be collecting an easy dozen each day! Oh, I could go on flexing all my egg knowledge, too bad this area of knowledge is never in a trivia game! I can't wait until my new chicks are big enough to start laying, since three of them will lay white eggs, adding a whole new color to my basket. If you've never had fresh eggs, try them! Stop at a farm stand and buy a dozen, find a friend with chickens and ask for a few, they are too good not to try! You might like them so much you're inspired to raise a few girls yourself and become an egg expert like me!