Maine's Own Off-Topic Thread -- Pt.2 (cat, hunting, room)

[countrylv22]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOREST BEEKEEPER!!!


WHAT AMAZING INFORMATION!!!! I TRULY APPRECIATE IT ALL!!

The EGG ended up floating So, its NOT fresh.....

There is one store that I bought eggs from, a long time ago, and they did

NOT have them in the refrigerator. Is it best to keep them inside or out of

the refrigerator ???


By the way, once I end up moving closer to where you all are ,

if you ever need customers for those eggs , I will be more than HAPPY

to be ONE! LOL! LOL! LOL!

THANK YOU SO VERY MUCH FOR THIS GREAT INFORMATION!!!

You are very knowledgeable, helpful, kind!!!

And you did NOT confuse me at all , I enjoy learning everything I can

about food, and ways to make things as natural, healthy as possible!

BLESSINGS TO YOU & YOUR FAMILY!!!

Countrylv22

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

countrylv22 -

As far as I have studied from the USDA 'fresh eggs' means that the product has never been hard frozen. The term 'fresh' is not an indication of age.

The colour of the egg makes no difference.



1. Each egg has an internal air sac.

2. Egg shells are porous.

3. As an egg ages, liquid from the white evaporates out through the shell; so two things happen. First the white shrinks a bit and pulls away from the shell, Second the air sac gets bigger.

Generally: a farm 'fresh' egg [lets say an egg of less than three weeks old] has a tiny air sac. It is tightly bonded with it's shell, so when you boil the egg it is very difficult to get the shell off of it. When placed in water it will sink.

Generally: an aged egg that is between four weeks and six weeks old will have shrunken a slight bit inside. So the air sac is a bit larger, and when you boil it, the shell will come off easily leaving a flawless boiled egg. When placed in water it should still sink though it will likely stand on one end and bounce on the bottom of the water container.

Generally: an old egg will float.

Eggs start with a clear gelatinous sealant over the outside of the shell. That sealant helps guard the shell from absorbing bacteria. If an egg has been washed, it will likely have lost it's sealant. Bacteria inside an egg shows up as a dark cloudy mass inside it when the egg is candled. Or as smelly rottenness when the egg is opened.

I do have customers who insist on unwashed eggs. A commercial egg operation with wire cages, can produce unwashed eggs that are fairly clean, as the egg rolls on wire away from the chicken the moment it is laid. My eggs are laid on soiled ground, so they tend to be a bit poopy.

Some customers insist on poopy eggs, while most customers demand clean shiny eggs.

If an egg has been washed it could go 'rotten' when it is one week old, or it might stay good for three months.

On the other hand, I gather eggs and clean our chicken coop daily, and I have seen eggs less than one day ago, that will stand on one end in water.

I keep a miniature flashlight on my desk. It is the new kind with a dozen LED bulbs in it. It produces a very bright bluish light. Holding that light in my hand, by wrapping my pinkie finger around it. And by making a circle with my thumb and forefinger, I inspect each egg. By placing each egg on that circle and rotating it while the light shines through the egg. This allows me to see any cracks, the air sac, if the embryo is developing, and if the bacteria has gotten inside and began to grow. A 'good egg' is clear and my tiny flashlight will light the egg up like it was a lampshade.

There exist many general 'rules of thumb' about eggs. The best method of knowing what is inside an egg is to look inside using a such a bright light. This is called 'candling'.

My Dw works in a grocery store, their fresh eggs have been aged to between three and six weeks before they have reached the store.

We produce brown and white eggs. We will be adding green/blue eggs this year. Many if not most of my eggs would not pass the federal standards for commercial marketing as their shells are not even. When candling the eggs, I can see thick sections of shell, and thin sections of shell. Even without cracks in the shell, the shells are simply not uniform thickness. And of course some of my eggs are fertile [slower hens produce fertile eggs].

I hope that I have not confused you

[countrylv22]

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INPUT!!


I really appreciate it!!


HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE!!


Countrylv22

Originally Posted by elston

Country Luv 22 (who is a good egg)

I THINK it means it is an older egg; not necessarily rotten, but not as fresh.

[forest beekeeper]

countrylv22 -
"Is it best to keep them inside or out of the refrigerator ???"

If your eggs are fertile [from the slower hens] and you wish to incubate them [which sometimes I do], then you do not want them to be below 40 degrees.

However I think that the best storage temps for eggs is 35 to 40 degrees.

If kept at those temps an egg is good for it's four weeks of normal commmercial storage/aging, plus two weeks in your home.

May God bless you

[countrylv22]

I hope that this finds you doing well!!


THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR PROMPT RESPONSE!!


I truly appreciate it!!!

So, if a store has them sitting around on a counter, and its not 35 to 40

degrees inside of the store, that is probably not a good thing, right ??


THANK YOU SO MUCH FOREST BEEKEEPER!!!

Like I said before, as soon as I move closer to your area, you have a NEW

CUSTOMER in me I also LOVE HONEY!!!

I hardly use sugar at all, and I love to cook & bake, so EGGS & HONEY are

something I ALWAYS need

THANK YOU FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP!!! YOU ARE VERY KIND & FRIENDLY!!!


MAY GOD BLESS YOU AS WELL!!

Countrylv22

Originally Posted by forest beekeeper

countrylv22 -
"Is it best to keep them inside or out of the refrigerator ???"

If your eggs are fertile [from the slower hens] and you wish to incubate them [which sometimes I do], then you do not want them to be below 40 degrees.

However I think that the best storage temps for eggs is 35 to 40 degrees.

If kept at those temps an egg is good for it's four weeks of normal commmercial storage/aging, plus two weeks in your home.

May God bless you

[forest beekeeper]

Eggs can sit at 50 to 80 degrees for a day and at most it will increase the odds of that egg hosting the bacteria inside which could begin growing and cause the egg to become rotten quicker. Lessening it's life from four months to something less.

I really do not know much about how much it lessens an egg's projected usable life span.

At the open air Farmer's Markets we stack the eggs outside only so long as the outside temps are below freezing. Once it is above freezing all eggs are kept in ice chests, to keep them cool.

I did learn the hard-way to candle all of my eggs though. If a chicken manages to hide a couple eggs and broods them, then you find them a few days later. You think that are all fresh, but ...... maybe they are not. It is better to check all eggs by candling.



Two nights ago our stupid dog found a new playmate. She got sprayed by her new playmate, so now she stinks. Last night our son bathed the dog with tomato juice and H2O2. It helped some but not nearly enough.

So tonight I will be bathing her again, more tomato juice and H2O2.

[Zymer]

Forest- you might want to try some Summer's Eve. I've been told that it helps. Fortunately, I have not encountered the circumstance where I've needed to find out through first-hand experience.

"Two nights ago our stupid dog found a new playmate. She got sprayed by her new playmate, so now she stinks. Last night our son bathed the dog with tomato juice and H2O2. It helped some but not nearly enough."

On the dog, Forest! On the dog!

[elston]

Originally Posted by Zymer

Forest- you might want to try some Summer's Eve. I've been told that it helps. Fortunately, I have not encountered the circumstance where I've needed to find out through first-hand experience.

"Two nights ago our stupid dog found a new playmate. She got sprayed by her new playmate, so now she stinks. Last night our son bathed the dog with tomato juice and H2O2. It helped some but not nearly enough."

On the dog, Forest! On the dog!

When my dog got sprayed I tried the tomato juice with fair to poor results; I got whatever they were selling at the pet store (with a picture of a skunk with tail at attention on the container....and it worked very well. (The exception is that after a rain or swimming for several months there after, the smell came back.

[maine4.us]

The orange based cleaners work pretty good. My dog got sprayed years ago, and a neighbor had some of that stuff. I don't know why it worked so well, but it really did. Maybe it was the acid in the orange that cut some of the smell.

[bignhfamily]

Don't waste your time with tomato juice or citrus cleaners. At very best they may mask some smell. If you want something that works try this -

A bottle of hydrogen peroxide + a handful of baking soda + a big squirt of dish soap = nice smelling dog.

[Elcarim]

Dawn dish soap, according to our groomer. She puts it in the bath water ever time she bathes a dog.