Backyard chickens

The bloom and the wash question

Freshly laid eggs have a natural protective coating called the bloom (or cuticle) that seals the shell pores against bacteria. University extension services advise leaving eggs unwashed if you plan to store them at room temperature. Unwashed eggs with an intact bloom remain fresh at room temperature for about two weeks.

If you wash eggs (to remove dirt or droppings), the bloom is removed and the eggs must be refrigerated immediately. Washed eggs stored at room temperature spoil quickly because the open pores allow bacteria to enter. Refrigerated eggs, washed or not, keep for up to three months.

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What chickens can and cannot eat

Safe: most vegetable scraps, cooked grains and pasta, fruit (in moderation), plain yogurt, cooked eggs (scrambled is fine), mealworms.

Unsafe: raw or dried beans (contain phytohemagglutinin, toxic to poultry), avocado skin and pits (contain persin, which can cause heart failure in birds), chocolate (theobromine toxicity), raw potato skins that have turned green (solanine), and anything moldy, salty, or heavily processed.

Commercial layer feed should remain the primary diet. Scraps are supplemental, not a replacement for balanced nutrition.

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Hardware cloth, not chicken wire

Chicken wire keeps chickens in but does not keep predators out. Raccoons, foxes, weasels, and dogs can tear through it. The standard for predator-proof coops is half-inch hardware cloth (welded wire mesh), secured with screws and washers, not staples.

For digging predators, bury hardware cloth 12 to 18 inches deep as an apron around the coop perimeter, or bend it into an L-shape extending outward underground. Close and latch the coop every evening before dusk, when most predators become active.

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