[BADBACK]

hi all
two questions i would like to ask
1 i have some really fine sand and thought i might
put it in an old washing up bowl as a dust bath is that ok ?

2 how long does an egg stay fresh ?
  thank you

[joyfull]

fine sand will be good, however whenever I have tried to give my girls a set area for dust bathing they completely ignored it and insisted on scratching up craters at the base of a few trees.
Eggs by the time they reach the supermarkets can be several weeks old - the eggs laid by my girls though are lucky if they get to one weeks old.

[tesni]

I used to work for a large supermarket and eggs were advertised as 'from farm to store in less than 48hrs' - what they didn't advertise was how long they stayed in the storage area on the trolleys before they were put out on the shelves!    Ages, is the answer.  I know eggs have a fairly long shelf life.....if they aren't your own.  Even if you can resist, friends and family will take them as fast as your hens lay them
and yes - homemade dust baths are always ignored for a hen made one that will break your ankle when shutting them in for the night!

[dollybird]

i have put a old hamster cage tray in with fine sand, i havent seen the girls rolling around in it but the two hens that are laying eggs are doing so in the sand tray, i dont need to look far for them.