Last weekend was our change onto daylight savings time. As the days have more light in them, our ducks and chickens begin to lay more eggs. Birds lay an average of 6 eggs a week in the peak of spring. Currently, we are getting roughly three dozen duck and two dozen chicken eggs a day, but that is growing. We have roughly 70 ducks and 60 adult chickens. Plus, the new Whining True Green Chicks will start producing eggs in mid-July. That will make about 180 laying birds.
We collect eggs daily and slowly wash them throughout the week. To wash them, we soak them in water and use a cloth or scrubber under clean running water and let air dry. We do not typically wash eggs until they are sold because they stay fresher longer due to a protective film called the egg’s bloom. Keep in mind that a chicken will take 2-3 weeks in the hot summer to lay a clutch of eggs. These eggs are totally edible this entire time and sitting idle until the chicken decides to begin hatching them. Once the chicken sits on the eggs and triggers the egg’s built-in mechanism to start growing (think temperature and humidity), all of the eggs together will take exactly 21 days to hatch. It’s 28 days for ducks.
Unlike store-bought eggs that have been cleaned with a chemical and need to be put in the refrigerator, farm fresh eggs are fine at room temperature until consumed.
We sell eggs for $4/dozen for chicken and $6/dozen for duck which equals out to be the same price per volume. The duck eggs are 1.5 times larger than chicken eggs.
If you haven’t tried duck eggs yet, you should! They are less common in the USA because producers are not able to mass-produce them. Ducks must be on pasture and should have clean water to wash in. I often hear people saying the eggs are richer in flavor. Bakers love them for the added creaminess in pastries. What I would recommend doing is a side-by-side taste test. See if you can tell the difference and which one you like better. We have found most people can’t tell the difference in a blind taste test.
Even if you have a strong preference, you typically cannot tell if you mix them together in a scramble with meat & veggies. Our favorite weekend go-to for breakfast is an egg goulash. Take any veggies and meat we have on hand, some spices, and toss it in a pan with eggs. Scramble it all up and enjoy a farm breakfast.
If you are interested in trying out our farm fresh duck eggs, let us know. Or get five dozen chicken eggs regularly for just $20. Don’t hesitate to reach out. We have more eggs than we can consume and love having the ability to share them with others. We are not in it to make mounds of money; we just try to do a little better than break-even on food costs so we can provide friends and family with a healthy option.
Don’t forget that Easter is coming up too. Farm fresh eggs make great deviled eggs, not to mention fun for the kids to color. If you decide to hard boil eggs, go to our website for the best way to do it.
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