Those that have chickens know that egg laying is slowed way down in the winter. Some folks add supplemental lighting in the coop to keep egg production up, but we just let nature take its course.
I watched a video from @homesteadingfamily about “water glassing” eggs during the “lockdown” last year, and I decided to try this out!
It’s super simple!! This is what you’re going to need:
- Hydrated lime/pickling lime (I found some Mrs. Wages at our local Carlie C’s IGA) you can use food grade Cal Lime too – it’s more economical since it comes in larger quantities at Lowes Home Improvement
- Filtered water – we use our @berkey_filters water – but bottled distilled water will work too
- Fresh, unwashed eggs (the bloom keeps them “sealed”), and they must be clean – no dirt or other yucky stuff, any bacteria will make the whole batch “bad”!
Put 1 weighed ounce of lime (1 ounce came out to be 4 tablespoons) in a food grade container to one quart of water (I used a ½ gallon Mason jar, but if you have tons of eggs you can use a bigger container). The ratio is always 1:1 no matter how big your batch is!
Mix with a non-metal spoon until all lime is dissolved. Add your eggs. Put all your eggs into your container and then pour the lime and water mixture over the eggs. This amount is perfect for one dozen eggs in a half gallon jar. That’s it!
Keep adding fresh eggs each day. When you need to use them in a few months, be sure to use the eggs on the bottom first, rinse them very well, and if you pull out enough for a few days at a time, keep them refrigerated!
For me, it’s easier to do one dozen eggs per jar and date them and just use the whole jar at a time – be sure to use the oldest jar first!
I can’t wait til winter so we can see how this goes!
