# Long Term Egg Storage



## Michael_Js (Dec 4, 2013)

OK, I don't recall if I found this on this site, but I did a search and couldn't find anything. So, sorry if this is a repost...

Being this is our first full season with egg laying chickens, I was concerned that they would stop laying over the winter, to molt, and we would have to go back to buying them in the store. Well, learning they were all chicks when we bought them last March, and they probably don't molt the first year, we've had consistent egg laying through the winter. Now, this winter will be different, but...

So, I decided to try and store some eggs, longer than the counter life, then fridge life. I have tried a couple now, and they are no different than fresh ones in any way I can tell. I stored 4 dozen in early December 2019. Last week, I took out 2, cooked them up, and tried them. No issues.

This is what I did - it's NOT my method - like I mentioned above, I either found it here or elsewhere, but it seems to work fine and I will be doing it again at the end of this year. I have read nothing harmful about this method, so, just sharing it for others for information purposes. I stored them in a clean bucket, meant for long term food storage, with the lid on, but not tight.

*Long term egg storage: 8-12 months
hydrated lime - building supply section
8 qt water
1 oz, by weight, hydrated lime per quart of water
add unwashed, clean eggs
Keep lid on top - olive oil on top of water
You don't want water evaporation

When ready to eat, remove, rinse, and use*

Now, when I took them out, they were slimy - oil, and also covered in a thick white substance - I assume the lime. After washing, they were good to go.

Hope it helps...

peace,
Michael J.


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## Chiefster23 (Feb 5, 2016)

On the ships we used to routinely provision for 90 days. I know for a fact eggs will last 3 months in a refrigerated space, no problem. Beyond that I have no experience.


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## Broncosfan (Mar 2, 2014)

Chiefster23 said:


> On the ships we used to routinely provision for 90 days. I know for a fact eggs will last 3 months in a refrigerated space, no problem. Beyond that I have no experience.


I kept fresh eggs from October and they were fine in late January


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## Broncosfan (Mar 2, 2014)

Broncosfan said:


> I kept fresh eggs from October and they were fine in late January


I also never wash my eggs before they go into the refrigerator. Wipe off or knock dirt of with fine sandpaper.


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## Broncosfan (Mar 2, 2014)

The biggest thing you can do to help your eggs store longer is to keep your eggs clean as possible. Not washing until your ready to use. Washing can push bacteria into the egg. Keeping fresh shaving inside your laying boxes is a must. This had been a difficult one for me this year so far. I add new shavings almost everyday but this this has been a wet winter and the chicken lot is a muddy mess. I put straw at the entrance of the pen and inside where they spend a lot of their time


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## Robie (Jun 2, 2016)

I watched a documentary on youtube the other night of a crew sailing for quite a while around the pacific.
The cook told of how he keeps something like 2000 eggs from going bad.

First, I don't know if the eggs he had were straight from the farm but do know he didn't refrigerate them for lack of room.

He said he coats each egg with Vaseline, puts it back in the crate and then turns the crate upside down once a week to keep the yolk "centered" in the egg. He said the yolk floating to the bottom will start to deteriorate the shell.

He was turning whole crates at a time so it wasn't a big deal to do once a week. Made sense.

The longest I've kept them unrefrigerated is two weeks...also on a sailing trip and during the summer. I got eggs that had never been refrigerated and...they were fine at the end of the journey.


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## Broncosfan (Mar 2, 2014)

Robie said:


> I watched a documentary on youtube the other night of a crew sailing for quite a while around the pacific.
> The cook told of how he keeps something like 2000 eggs from going bad.
> 
> First, I don't know if the eggs he had were straight from the farm but do know he didn't refrigerate them for lack of room.
> ...


Refrigeration is not needed but I used to doing it. I read an article that in Europe that eggs are not refrigerated and just set on the shelves until purchased. Part of the reason for refrigeration is do to the way hens are in cages and the eggs get filthy then there washed and coated again before packaged. Its just easier for me to put them in the refrigerator right after collecting them.


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## Michael_Js (Dec 4, 2013)

As mentioned above, I think, once you wash/clean an egg, you must refrigerate it as you've removed it's protective coating. That's why the stores sell them in the refrigerated section. We store ours, just wiped clean, on the counter for 2-3 weeks (if they last that long since we sell (used to) them). Then, after that, we could refrigerate them for that long also.

It was the months long I was testing, and it seems to work fine. I will take 2-3 out each month and see how long they last in the mixture mentioned in the OP.

Peace,
Michael J.


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## MountainGirl (Oct 29, 2017)

Michael_Js said:


> As mentioned above, I think, once you wash/clean an egg, you must refrigerate it as you've removed it's protective coating. That's why the stores sell them in the refrigerated section. We store ours, just wiped clean, on the counter for 2-3 weeks (if they last that long since we sell (used to) them). Then, after that, we could refrigerate them for that long also.
> 
> It was the months long I was testing, and it seems to work fine. I will take 2-3 out each month and see how long they last in the mixture mentioned in the OP.
> 
> ...


Thanks for this thread; I saved a copy of the OP incase we ever get chickens.


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## Broncosfan (Mar 2, 2014)

Michael_Js said:


> As mentioned above, I think, once you wash/clean an egg, you must refrigerate it as you've removed it's protective coating. That's why the stores sell them in the refrigerated section. We store ours, just wiped clean, on the counter for 2-3 weeks (if they last that long since we sell (used to) them). Then, after that, we could refrigerate them for that long also.
> 
> It was the months long I was testing, and it seems to work fine. I will take 2-3 out each month and see how long they last in the mixture mentioned in the OP.
> 
> ...


That is partially true. The main problem that I have read is the change in temperature that can effect the shell that lets bacteria in. Just like the pores in our skin that open with temperature change. I like the idea of no refrigeration I'm just not going to do it as I rather not have several dozen eggs on my counter at a time. Years ago eggs were always left out in the USA. Once refrigerated they cannot be left out. I remember seeing a mix you could purchase in a Amish catalog that help preserve eggs for storage I forget the name right this second but I know its here in Ohio. That protective coating that is applied as the hen is laying the egg is called the bloom I believe.


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## Green Lilly (Nov 8, 2018)

Michael_Js said:


> OK, I don't recall if I found this on this site, but I did a search and couldn't find anything. So, sorry if this is a repost...
> 
> Being this is our first full season with egg laying chickens, I was concerned that they would stop laying over the winter, to molt, and we would have to go back to buying them in the store. Well, learning they were all chicks when we bought them last March, and they probably don't molt the first year, we've had consistent egg laying through the winter. Now, this winter will be different, but...
> 
> ...


Did you have to add more water/lime mixture periodically for evaporation or does the layer of olive oil and the lid do a decent job of keeping the water in?


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## Michael_Js (Dec 4, 2013)

Green Lilly said:


> Did you have to add more water/lime mixture periodically for evaporation or does the layer of olive oil and the lid do a decent job of keeping the water in?


So far, no more water...the olive oil is doing a good job keep evaporation down. I do not have the lid on tight, but that would also help if needed. I put them in 12/15/19 and will take 2 out every month to see how long they last and try to remember to update here...

Thank you,
Michael J.


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## Green Lilly (Nov 8, 2018)

Michael_Js said:


> So far, no more water...the olive oil is doing a good job keep evaporation down. I do not have the lid on tight, but that would also help if needed. I put them in 12/15/19 and will take 2 out every month to see how long they last and try to remember to update here...
> 
> Thank you,
> Michael J.


Thanks Michael. I am going to start today. Have 30 eggs that we have pulled out of the coop over the last several days to start with.


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## Green Lilly (Nov 8, 2018)

Michael_Js said:


> So far, no more water...the olive oil is doing a good job keep evaporation down. I do not have the lid on tight, but that would also help if needed. I put them in 12/15/19 and will take 2 out every month to see how long they last and try to remember to update here...
> 
> Thank you,
> Michael J.


One more question- Are you adding eggs as you go as well? Or just started with the 4 dozen and left as is. I would like to add more eggs over the next few weeks to the 5 gallon bucket I have. Do you know of anything I should be doing other then sticking them in the water with the other eggs?


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## Michael_Js (Dec 4, 2013)

Green Lilly said:


> One more question- Are you adding eggs as you go as well? Or just started with the 4 dozen and left as is. I would like to add more eggs over the next few weeks to the 5 gallon bucket I have. Do you know of anything I should be doing other then sticking them in the water with the other eggs?


I haven't added any eggs because I first wanted to test long term storage...There is plenty of water to add more...Just be sure to fill the bucket at least 1/2 way with the mixture - amount of oil stays the same...Just follow the same plan and clean - NOT wash - the eggs before putting them in.

PS - this is new to me too! So, that's why the trial! This coming winter, I will have very few chickens laying since they are all full grown now, so this test will verify if it's going to work for the coming season.

Thank you,
Michael J.


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## Green Lilly (Nov 8, 2018)

Michael_Js said:


> I haven't added any eggs because I first wanted to test long term storage...There is plenty of water to add more...Just be sure to fill the bucket at least 1/2 way with the mixture - amount of oil stays the same...Just follow the same plan and clean - NOT wash - the eggs before putting them in.
> 
> PS - this is new to me too! So, that's why the trial! This coming winter, I will have very few chickens laying since they are all full grown now, so this test will verify if it's going to work for the coming season.
> 
> ...


So we are learning something new together! Will touch base later on as well and let you know how we fare.


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## Michael_Js (Dec 4, 2013)

Waterglassing eggs...hmm!





Peace,
Michael J.


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## Elvis (Jun 22, 2018)

We've been preserving our eggs without refrigeration for up to 9 months for several years now. The method we use should easily hold an eg for over a year.

Slaking lime and hydrated lime are the same thing as the pickling lime you buy in the grocery store so very easy to get. You must use clean unwashed eggs. Refrigerated eggs from the grocery store won't work because the protective layer (the bloom) has been washed off. 

We use a 2 gallon bucket and put one gallon of warm water in it. (As you add eggs the bucket will fill up to the top with the lime solution). Stir in 1-2 ozs of pickling lime and put it in a dark place in the house, we put ours on a pantry shelf. Starting mid August we put excess clean eggs from our birds into the bucket, just drop them in. By early November our birds have mostly stopped laying but the bucket will have enough eggs to last us until April when the birds are laying good again.

If in doubt it's easy to test if an egg has gone bad. Just put the egg in a bowl of water. If it floats the egg is bad. A good egg will lay on it's side in the bottom of the bowl of water. A egg standing on it's end is considered good and I've only seen it a few times but we toss them for safety. Been eating out pantry stored eggs for years now.


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## Michael_Js (Dec 4, 2013)

It all sounds about the same...Just tested 2 more eggs today - all good...I can add more eggs at any time since there's plenty of water. I'll be testing 2 eggs every month and with 4 dozen to start, and 2 tests so far, I can go 2 total years worth of testing, but, probably won't.

My 5 gal food grade bucket:








Inside is basically a layer of olive oil - I did not secure the top on tightly...








The eggs come out with the oil and lime slime:








And look fine (other than breaking the yolks). Cooked them up and no issues with color, odor, or taste:








Peace,
Michael J.


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## JustAnotherNut (Feb 27, 2017)

Some chicken breeds can lay throughout the winter. And some people force their birds to lay during the winter with lights in the coop. 

I've not tried liming eggs yet and not sure if it's something I'll do. Don't really have the room...….but when I have too many eggs, I've dehydrated them & ground to a powder. I have some that are around 2 years old and so far, are fine. They work great for baking & scrambled.....just not sunny side up or over easy.

If it's something anyone would consider......just crack your eggs into a blender & mix till almost frothy. Pour onto roll-up sheets till not quite full (need a little room for expansion) & dehydrate on 145 till very dry & crack-y. The surface will feel just a bit oily, but otherwise should be well dried. Then run thru a grinder or the blender to powder. Then pour out on the roll-up sheets again & dry the powder for another hour. Let cool & store in a sealed container or mason jar. 

To reconstitute.....for one large egg mix 1 Tablespoon egg powder with 2 Tablespoons warm (not hot) water and just a drop of oil. Stir it up & let sit 5 or 10 minutes or so. If you don't add the drop of oil, when cooking scrambled eggs, the texture will be grainy. The oil will reduce or even prevent the graininess. If you are using it for baking, you can skip the oil altogether. Even for scrambled eggs, with or without the oil, it still cooks up, looks and tastes just like fresh eggs.


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## Michael_Js (Dec 4, 2013)

Quick egg update: 10 months later on the 4 dozen eggs I stored in lime December 2019.

I take out 2 every month, and check them for freshness, color, edibility.

The 2 I took out yesterday look good - some stains on the shells. I noticed the lime has built up a layer on the bottom of the bucket - I have not stirred it at all in the 10 months...

No smells, no discoloration, no taste issues:

The eggs:








The little brown chunks are toasted garlic in garlic oil  So, ignore those: They were delicious...








I'll keep posting every few months until they're gone...we have over 4 dozen now, and are trying to sell more. Else, I will probably start another bucket with another batch - we'll see.

My wife only eats eggs when I cook them on the weekends, otherwise, it's only me. She wanted them as pets  
Happy Wife, Happy Life!! 

Peace,
Michael J.


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## Michael_Js (Dec 4, 2013)

Hi all,

Another update on the long term egg storage - glassing...

This is month 11 of me storing 4 dozen eggs in hydrated lime. I have about 2 dozen left, and will probably end the experiment next month, 1 year after starting it.

The last 2 eggs I took out, and ate:

Looked fine - no outer discoloration after washing
Tasted fine - no interior odor or funky taste
The shells seemed harder than a fresher egg - noticeably harder, but no problem cracking open
The yolks seemed less vibrant and a duller orange as a fresher egg

So, an experiment well worth doing especially since it was our first winter with the girls and we didn't know what to expect. Next month, I'll probably take the rest of the eggs out, take some pictures to post of the eggs and insides, cook up what's left - make sure they taste good - then reward the girls and feed them some scrambled eggs...

Peace,
Michael J.


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## MisterMills357 (Apr 15, 2015)

Eggs don't last around me, I will go through a dozen of them in 2 days. Love 'em.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

Un washed eggs will last 3 months at room temp with nothing else needed to do. That just about covers most of winter in my area.


I run Light on my hens NO slackers during winter I run and maintain 14 hours of day light. Im still getting 6 to 7 eggs from 7 chickens I started running light in late September as soon as day light hours went below 14 hours of day light.


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## hawgrider (Oct 24, 2014)

Oh I suppose I should mention I run ISA brown chickens. They lay 300 to 340 ish or so give or take a few eggs per year.


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## czmead (Nov 23, 2020)

Chiefster23 said:


> On the ships we used to routinely provision for 90 days. I know for a fact eggs will last 3 months in a refrigerated space, no problem. Beyond that I have no experience.


Thank you for this information.

Sent from my VIEW 1 using Tapatalk


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## Deebo (Oct 27, 2012)

Michael_Js said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Another update on the long term egg storage - glassing...
> 
> ...


Thanks, Thats ab awesome trial you did.


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## Elvis (Jun 22, 2018)

Michael_Js said:


> Hi all,
> 
> Another update on the long term egg storage - glassing...
> 
> ...


Thanks for the test. I also store my eggs in a lime-water bath and found the yolks tent to start to get a bit runny after 6-8 months but not had a egg go bad yet. We toss any remaining eggs the following spring as the birds start laying again.

While I've got lighting in one of the coops I haven't used it to force winter laying since we started storing excess eggs in lime-water.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

Excellent info @Michael_Js !!

We're getting 4-5 eggs a day and they are adding up fast!

(How did I miss this thread?)


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## smokeyquartz (Oct 24, 2020)

Just do PA Dutch style and make pickled eggs....


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## Michael_Js (Dec 4, 2013)

smokeyquartz said:


> Just do PA Dutch style and make pickled eggs....


I do that also as we have plenty of eggs! 

Peace,
Michael J.


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## ActionJackson (Sep 4, 2020)

I just bought a couple of packages of powdered eggs. It does say on the package to "refrigerate after opening" so even this product has a limited shelf life but it should last considerably longer than actual eggs. I guess I'll find out.


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## Ridin with biden (Nov 25, 2020)

I like this thread and look forward to your updates...l usually give away extra eggs but there may come a day when I won't lolol


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## Green Lilly (Nov 8, 2018)

Thought I would touch base on this thread. We pulled 6 eggs out of the lime water this past weekend and cooked them up for breakfast. So that is about 7 months in the lime water. Other than the yolk being a little runny the eggs tasted and smelled great! Its a good thing too as our birds have been going through molt and we haven't gotten many eggs in the last few weeks. Super excited that this actually worked and I will try and do several buckets worth next spring!


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## Beechnut (Sep 6, 2020)

Eggs were on sale a couple months ago for 50 cents a dozen for large eggs. We freeze dried 6 dozen. The small amount that we kept out to use and learn how to use have been awesome. We plan on getting chickens again next spring because of this. We had gotten tired of having them before and trying to find people to give eggs to so we canned the 8-9 that we had left last fall.


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## MountainGirl (Oct 29, 2017)

Beechnut said:


> Eggs were on sale a couple months ago for 50 cents a dozen for large eggs. We freeze dried 6 dozen. The small amount that we kept out to use and learn how to use have been awesome. We plan on getting chickens again next spring because of this. We had gotten tired of having them before and trying to find people to give eggs to so we canned the 8-9 that we had left last fall.


Hi Beechnut - how did you freeze dry the eggs? Thanks!

Edit: I found this link...is this pretty much how you did it?

https://freezedryingmama.com/freeze-dried-eggs-raw/


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## paulag1955 (Dec 15, 2019)

MountainGirl said:


> Hi Beechnut - how did you freeze dry the eggs? Thanks!
> 
> Edit: I found this link...is this pretty much how you did it?
> 
> https://freezedryingmama.com/freeze-dried-eggs-raw/


I would love to know where she gets 5 dozen eggs for $3-something.


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## ActionJackson (Sep 4, 2020)

Ridin with biden said:


> I like this thread and look forward to your updates...l usually give away extra eggs but there may come a day when I won't lolol


You can throw them at the Blue Helmets when you run out of ammo.


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## Beechnut (Sep 6, 2020)

MountainGirl said:


> Hi Beechnut - how did you freeze dry the eggs? Thanks!
> 
> Edit: I found this link...is this pretty much how you did it?
> 
> https://freezedryingmama.com/freeze-dried-eggs-raw/


Pretty much. We didn't prefreeze because we don't have freezer space. Right now if we want to put something in the freezer we have to take something out. Also we did use the silicon mats in the trays and had no problem with the egg going under them like that person was worried about.


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## Beechnut (Sep 6, 2020)

paulag1955 said:


> I would love to know where she gets 5 dozen eggs for $3-something.


I'm not a she. Anyway it was a great sale by a semi local store. That store is not a chain store.


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## paulag1955 (Dec 15, 2019)

Beechnut said:


> I'm not a she. Anyway it was a great sale by a semi local store. That store is not a chain store.


I was actually referring to the "Freeze Drying Mama" at the website that Mountain Girl linked, but I will keep this in mind for future reference.

I can get a dozen eggs free every so often at the local supermarket buy using earned "points," but other than that I usually have to pay $1.99/dozen. Even at Costco, the five dozen pack of eggs comes out to $1.79/dozen. Food is very expensive in Washington.


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## Michael_Js (Dec 4, 2013)

OK, final update to this thread. It's been a little over a year since I started this experiment and it's over. I took all the rest of the eggs out - a 2 and 1/2 dozen - cleaned them, and cooked up almost a dozen for the chickens.

Other than a little lime smell, there were 0 issues with the eggs. Some shell discoloration, as you'll see in the pictures below. Some of the yolks were lighter in color than the fresh ones, and some were as dark as usual. Since the egg shells seemed a little harder than fresh eggs (which are harder than store bought eggs), I broke the yokes on cracking them - more than I usually do.

Since it's been harder to sell eggs, and we have 4 dozen sitting on our counter, I decided to end the experiment instead of prolonging it. The chickens will be happy with some scrambles eggs. And, as with all the rest of the stored eggs, I did eat some and they are fine. Also, since we give the chickens back their shells (dried & crushed) to eat, I checked online if hydrated lime would be an issue to them. I found other than sprinkling it and them breathing the dust, there would be no issue. However, my wife suggested we crush those shells and just toss them into the coop yard to promote growth.

So, a very good experiment and one that if we thought we might need to store eggs for long term usage, I would easily and comfortably do again. I'm going to scramble up the rest of the eggs and freeze them for later use - more storing 

Stored eggs:








Stored eggs on left, fresh eggs on right:








Cracked eggs:








Peace,
Michael J.


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## MountainGirl (Oct 29, 2017)

Michael_Js said:


> OK, final update to this thread. It's been a little over a year since I started this experiment and it's over. I took all the rest of the eggs out - a 2 and 1/2 dozen - cleaned them, and cooked up almost a dozen for the chickens.
> 
> Other than a little lime smell, there were 0 issues with the eggs. Some shell discoloration, as you'll see in the pictures below. Some of the yolks were lighter in color than the fresh ones, and some were as dark as usual. Since the egg shells seemed a little harder than fresh eggs (which are harder than store bought eggs), I broke the yokes on cracking them - more than I usually do.
> 
> ...


 Thank you Michael for the update and for the whole thread. If we ever do chickens up here that's the method I'll use. I wonder if it would work with turkey eggs. We've always thought about capturing the wild turkeys - but I don't know. Easier just to shoot them and eat them lol. Thanks again!


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## stevekozak (Oct 4, 2015)

I have enjoyed following your experiment! Thank you for sharing it with us.


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