I'm okay with being a food weirdo. And I'm okay with the weird glances and skeptical looks from others.
After all, when one's counters are full of lacto-fermented sauerkraut, sprouting wheat berries, culturing yogurt, fermenting kefir, and brewing kombucha, one's bound to get a few odd questions from visitors.
And I don't mind.
Just like I don't mind explaining why our family consumes raw dairy. Cod liver oil. Or bone broth. I'm happy to share!
Same goes for my room temperature eggs. Yet another questionable farm product that litters my counter space.
Our homestead is home to 19 beautiful chickens – 15 hens, 3 roosters, and 1 we're-still-not-sure-even-though-its-super-old (but that's a whole other story that seriously leads me to question if chickens can actually be both sexes).
But sexing chickens isn't my specialty, so let's move on.
Even through these past few cold and dreary winter months, our laying hens have been happily providing us with eggs each day – anywhere from five to ten. We don't utilize a supplemental light so I've been quite pleased that they're still willing to lay for us in this dark time of year.
Lord knows I wouldn't. Heck, I barely shave my legs through the winter.
Each day, I lovingly walk (or slide… or sled… or fall…) down to the coop and collect the day's bounty. After they're brought to the house, the eggs are placed in an antique metal basket-ish-thing of my late Grandmother's that sits right next to the stove.
See?
That's my egg basket.
The eggs aren't washed or processed in any way. Instead, they just sit there. At room temperature. All day.
SAAAYYYYY WHHHAAATTTT?
Oh now, don't get all hot to trot. It's just the plain truth my friends. Fresh eggs that have not been washed DO NOT require refrigeration. Did you know that eggs are laid with a natural, antibacterial coating? This coating completely closes all the pores of the egg. It's like a force-field of natural awesomeness.
When eggs are washed, that coating is removed. Pores are opened. And bacteria has the perfect opportunity to strike. BAM. Contamination. Therefore, if one does decide to wash their eggs, they shan't be kept at room temperature any longer but MUST be refrigerated. Bacteria rules dictate. (USDA rules also dictate that eggs cannot be sold outside of refrigeration so even the swankiest health-food-stores will still be selling their eggs from cold storage).
But Shaye, aren't you worried about the eggs going bad?
Actually, no. I'm not. Because our family eats them practically as fast as they come in! The max that any egg sits on the counter for is a few days and because of it's natural protective coating, those days simply don't have a great affect on the egg.
But Shaye, how can you tell if the egg is bad?
Easy. If it floats in a glass of water, it's bad. Toss it. If it sinks, it's good to go – so fry it up!
But Shaye, why don't you just refrigerate them “just in case”?
Two reasons:
1. That's another step of having to battle egg cartons and
2. My fridge is entirely full of milk all the time – girlfriend ain't got room for three dozen eggs hangin' out without good reason
But Shaye, is this just some sort of new fangled hippy mumbo-jumbo to freak us out about our food?
No. In fact, until just a few decades ago, this is how people kept their eggs and how many people STILL keep their eggs around the world. American's are one of the few cultures that insists our eggs our refrigerated (probably because the quality is so poor we have to try and compensate somehow… but that's another topic!). For short-term storage, this is a fantastic and safe option.
Most store-bought eggs are washed, bleached, and then have a synthetic coating reapplied. These eggs are layed under horrible conditions and the threat of contamination is much higher than a few chickens on a farm. My chickens are happy, healthy, and free! Their eggs are laid in a clean environment and are gathered fresh each day.
But Shaye, don't you get things stuck to your eggs?
Sometimes I have to pick feathers off, but that's about as bad as it gets. I clean the coop on a weekly basis and I keep the nesting boxes stuffed with hay – I find this works better and is easier to manage and clean than cedar chips or saw dust of any kind. If there is a chunk of, ya know, stuck to the egg I'll simply flick it off or gently rub with a dry cloth.
Ya. We flick poo around here. It's just part of life.
But Shaye, how can I know it works?
Come to my homestead and I'll whisk you up a omelette, okay?
One of my favorite parts about the homesteading life is the un-complication of things that we've made so complicated. Here, there's no need for fancy equipment, scales, chemicals, or cleaning procedures. Because we eat what we grow (or rather, our chickens lay) we get to enjoy the simplicity of gathering and cooking without any fuss.
Christeena Dinehart
My hen’s eggs sit in egg cartons on the counter!!! If they “need” to be washed, I do it right before I use them!
Jenn B
I don’t wash but do refrigerate as I hoard (for lack of a better term) my eggs until I have a couple dozen to sell. See, I only have 4 girls laying with 2 due to begin any day and 1 that likely won’t start till late March. I like sharing the eggs with friends & family as well as offsetting the cost of care by selling some of the eggs. With only 4 girls laying we only see 2-3 eggs, on average, per day. I would hate for the eggs to not be as Fresh as possible for everyone who purchases them.
Candace
When I interned on a farm in Montana, we always left them out on the counter. Unfortunately even with ample hay, they always had poo stuck to the eggs. So I would wash right before eating. I found scraping with an old credit card/library card didn’t hurt the protective bloom, but still got the “crap” off. 🙂
Zoe
We do not refrigerate our chickens eggs.
Cyndi Lewis
I treat my eggs exactly the way you do and like Christeena said above if one needs washing (which is rare) I do it before it is used. We also sell our eggs unwashed but we do let our customers know this and why we choose to do it this way.
Virginia
I am like Cyndi. We do not refrigerate our eggs. They sit in a bowl on the counter all the time. We wash them if needed (which is rare) before using them. We also sell our eggs unwashed but tell our customers why beforehand. They all seem to appreciate the fact that the eggs are as unprocessed as possible.
Erin
We keep ours on an egg skelter on the counter. It keeps them in order, so you always use the oldest eggs first.
Margaret
I don’t wash my eggs, either. I do, however, refrigerate… but it’s more for my family’s benefit. They always bought grocery store eggs until I got my own chickens, so that’s what they’re used to. Until I’m able to move out, I guess they’ll just take up space in the fridge… Unless I can convince them otherwise!! I mean, hey, if I can convince them to get chickens and goats, maybe I can convince them to keep my eggs at room temperature. 😉
From one poo-flicker to another, thanks for another awesome post!
megan @ Restoring the Roost
Aren’t fresh backyard chicken eggs the best? I believe the protective coating you are referencing is called the “bloom.” We keep our fresh eggs in an antique woven egg basket in the kitchen but since a lot of mine have to be washed due to poop being stuck on them, I have to refrigerate quite a bit too. Definitely don’t want any poop particles falling from the shells and contaminating our breakfast 😉 We use pine shavings in our coop and nest boxes– I have found that straw gets very messy. With pine shavings it’s sort of like kitty litter and you can just scoop out the poop without a huge mess.
Erin
No refrigerating eggs here! I wash right before use if needed, otherwise mine sit on the counter, sometimes up to a week and I have never had a bad egg!
Renee
Brilliant and v helpful. I did tak ow that! I live in brisbane Australia in the suburbs and plan on getting chickens soon. This is great to know.
Leah
So my only question here (being that food safety is my occupation) is the risk of salmonella. Granted farm eggs with good animal practices will most certainly be cleaner than the processing facilities but there is still that risk. I would still keep them unrefrigerated because that IS safe but I might store them somewhere other than the countertop to prevent the “potential” spread of those pesky microorganisms. My hubs and I have a farm that’s about 5, maybe less, years away. I can’t wait! Thanks for sharing what you do Shaye! God Bless.
Autumn
” …girlfriend ain’t got room for three dozen eggs hangin’ out without good reason”
HAHAHAHA! That was awesome.
Melissa
Nope. We don’t wash them and ours sit on the counter too. We use an antique collapsible/bendable/woven basket that belonged to Andy’s grandma to collect them, then keep them on the counter until we use them. A lot of people are amazed when they learn that the eggs don’t have to be refrigerated. Our CSA members love having a bowl of pretty eggs to look at (and eat!) when they take some home. After learning the USDA rules for basically bleach washing the eggs, we decided to only sell ‘on-farm’ which basically exempts us from candling and bleaching. I won’t go on… We do refrigerate some to save them for a few weeks for boiling, because it does help the peeling go much easier. Oh and on a totally separate note, Andy just said, ‘tell Shaye I said hi, because you talk like you’re buddies.’ Oh… we are;)
caitlinvb
Nope. We don’t wash ours! No need. Salmonella is a necessary thing for chickens to have in their guts to be able to digest their food, but the bloom on the egg protects the egg from the bacteria contaminating it (hence eggs in the nest don’t go bad before they start developing chicks) and anyone with a healthy immune system won’t be affected by it. And most homestead raised chickens don’t have poop-covered eggs like massive chicken farm hens do. In our house the only problem is keeping up with all the eggs – so the fourth grader is in charge of collecting the eggs, and writes the date on them with a pencil when he does. Works great!
Melinda farmer
Living in Mississippi and being raised on a farm and now having my own farm, I follow the tried and true ways my grandmother did eggs…. As she would ” never child never refrigerate a fresh egg”… She would say its as sinful as refrigerating a tomato.
Cleasa
How long can they stay out of the refrigerator? a few days, a week, two weeks? I buy mine from a local farmer and we don’t use them super fast, there is only two of us 🙂
Allison
Eggs are amazingly designed. Because a chicken only lays one egg a day (or less), it can take her several weeks to lay her whole clutch. Meanwhile, the early eggs are sitting in the nest un-refridgerated. Eggs are designed not to incubate until the mother hen roosts and the eggs are raised to the right temperature. Once the embryo starts to develop, the temperature has to be maintained, and that’s why the mother hen goes ‘broody’ and hardly leaves her nest for 21 days until the eggs hatch.
I’ve never had a problem from eating non refrigerated eggs, even ones that were several weeks old. Common sense says that two or three weeks is probably the limit, though. 🙂
Thanks for the “float or sink” test, Shaye, this is a handy trick!
Caitlin
Chickens can be both sexes.
Jeanne Millar
I believe that North America is just about the only country that refrigerates their eggs. I read somewhere it is illegal to refrigerate eggs in the UK.
Larlei
We ordered flats of fresh,unrefrigerated eggs from our local produce stand for our extended sailing trips. I don’t know if they were washed by the supplier or not, but I doubt it.
The eggs lasted at least a month. All we had to do was turn them once each day to keep them evenly coated on the inside.
Lori
My mother in law doesn’t even OWN a fridge. So yeah, she keeps her eggs on the counter, and gets her milk from her goats. Uses up what she can, gives the rest to neighbors.
Lou Watson
I think there are double sex chickens too. We have a hen with spurs.
Sheri
I live in Hungary and eggs sit unrefrigerated in the stores. They occasionally have some feathers on them and maybe a little …ya know.. Before moving here from America I would never have left my eggs on the counter. Now…no problem!
Leslie
Another factor: if you were to put them in the refrigerator, then you really should wash them as they will come into contact possibly with other items in the refrigerator. Putting them in water with a mild or even organic detergent causes the shells to become porous and actually causes them to lose their freshness faster. Eggs in their natural state are sealed unless the shell has been pecked or compromised in some other way–especially if they are organic and free range. The shells are thicker and have more calcium than other shells–proven fact! 🙂
Mary
Nope, we do not refrigerate our eggs either, and of course not wash them until needed otherwise you break down that fantastic bug-a-boo barrier. and have left them on the counter for up to a week with no problems. You have to figure a broody hen’s first fertilized egg has to wait days until she has laid a clutch to set on the eggs constantly to start the process of turning that fertilized egg into a chicken. Hence the protective coating that keeps all those bug-a-boos out and the developing chick safe.
And my father .. who grew up on a poultry farm in the 40s-60s, and his father ….who was a poultry geneticist at the Beltsville agricultural center, swear that fresh eggs that were in constant cold storage at the end of WWII were used at the beginning of the Korean war. Now I do not advocate that long of storage 🙂 but I believe my Dad!! He always said what would turn them bad was the constant change in temperatures. First laid by the hen then cooled while transported, then warmed waiting for shipment, then cooled during shipment, then warmed while waiting to be put in the cooler a the grocery store, then cooled when stored in the back cooler at the store, than warmed when waiting to be put out on the shelves, then cooled on the shelves, then warmed while you shop and take them home, then cooled in your fridge, All that warming and cooling breaks down any protective barrier.
Tammi Mitchell
Lol! Loved the humor in your article! I want to not refrigerate my eggs but, they come from the store. Can I still not refrigerate them.
Lynn Smith
I don’t wash our eggs until we use them and they sit in the counter too. People today over react about everything.
Matthew
I’ve happily watched as these truths turn up more and more.
I’ve got a family of seven children, and they are fed by non-washed, non refrigerated (well, they sit in the entry way to my Alaskan home, which is mostly 40°-50°) eggs from our humble little homestead!
I love your blog! Keep it up!
Heather Marano
When I lived in Belize we never refrigerated our eggs. We had to feed about 50 people a day and so crates and crates of eggs sat under the kitchen sink constantly. We never had any problems. But that’s because those eggs were literally plucked from nesting boxes and placed in the crates to be driven the two miles to our camp. They never saw a factory or chemicals or anything. I would never trust eggs I get in the store at room temp. I currently get my eggs through my CSA from a local farm BUT they are already refrigerated when I receive them so I keep them cold.
Mary
I put them in a bowl on the counter, and use them as needed. NO washing, unless I’m about to use them, and they have more than a little dirt (so it doesn’t fall in…)
Joe
How long do eggs keep in the fridge?
Judy Brooks
Use to go camping for a month when my kids were little. We had lake water piped to our cabin, and outhouses, no electricity…bare bones camping so to speak. For 6 to 8 people I bought a lot of eggs. Just wrapped them in newspaper, placed the cartons in a big box and stuck in a cool corner of cabin…never had a problem. That’s the way my mom did it and my friends…. And my kids know how to do it too….Be 75 this summer…
Hannah Goehry
When I was visitng Australia they keep their eggs in the baking eisle unrefridgerated next to the flour
Naomii
Once they have been refrigerated then removed from the fridge, if they get condensation on them you will need to keep them refrigerated, since the moisture from condensation will have removed some of the bloom. Sometimes friends share their fresh eggs with me and I always have to ask whether they have been refrigerated, because if so, I then need to do the same.
Brenda
I love the egg basket you shared on Facebook. But I want to comment on another subject. You mentioned that you have 15 hens and 3 roosters. My ex and I had chickens for several years and I loved them and still miss having them. I had the understanding that you need 13 or 15 hens per rooster. You might have a more calm barnyard if you have fewer roosters or more hens.. I am truly just trying to be helpful, the hens are my favorite. Enjoy your chickens!
Eva
I have lived in Europe for the past couple of years. I have been in groceries in Germany, France and Italy. I have yet to see a refrigerated egg! I have only once cracked open a bad egg. That is a much better record than I had with refrigerated eggs in the states. I think freshness is the key!
Kat
I was always told you need to keep them under a certain temperature so that it stops the fertilized egg from becoming an embryo? Is that incorrect information?
Daniel
In order for fertile eggs to start incubating they would need to be kept at 99F to 102F. If where you are keeping your eggs is below 80F, the eggs won’t start to develop. http://wp.me/p44c6k-tU
The Free Ranger
Eggs should be kept under 20c, toom temp is ok in winter. Summer should be refrigerated.
Ericka
Thanks for sharing! We just got chicks for the first time this Spring and are eagerly anticipating our first egg this fall. I’m so glad I read this post before then – we’ll be sure to enjoy our fresh eggs without refrigeration.
Robyn Lee
I sure don’t wash my eggs! My fridge is so full there’s no room! I only ever wash them before selling them to people.
Kat
We pretty much only refrigerate ours because we have very little counter space that gets cluttered very easily. But we’ll oftentimes forget about a half-dozen or so on the counter for a day or two. No biggie. I love using the room-temp ones, much more so than the cold ones.
Franceska
Definitely on the counter!! This is our 1st flock: 19 pullets & 1 roo:) Just got our 1st egg on the 30th, we are 2 1/2 dozen now & today finally got 3 eggs. There will be no refrigerating our eggs.