Chicken eggs when laid in a coop outside can come under some intense environmental factors. Of those factors, intense cold weather can cause some unwanted issues with your eggs.
On average, chicken eggs freeze at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. Some research suggests that eggs could possibly not freeze until around 31 degrees, however, it’s best to avoid letting your eggs stay in the coop if temperatures reach 32 degrees Fahrenheit.
In the article below, we will go into detail on the exact temperature at which you can expect your eggs to freeze, how you can tell if eggs are frozen, if fresh eggs are ruined if they freeze, and how to prevent your chicken eggs from freezing.
What temperature do chicken eggs freeze at?
On average, chicken eggs freeze at 32 degrees Fahrenheit. The egg white will typically freeze at around 31.19 degrees Fahrenheit, while the egg yolk will freeze at 30.95 degrees Fahrenheit. So it could be argued that 31 degrees Fahrenheit is more accurate. Again, anything under 32 degrees is considered freezing and you would definitely want to grab them at this point. When a chicken lays an egg it’s nearly 100 degrees, so it will take some time for it to cool down even if it is below 32 degrees outside.
How can you tell if eggs are frozen?
On average, an egg that has frozen will generally be cracked.
However, if you’ve just brought the eggs in from outside and want to do another test, you can spin the egg on the counter and lightly touch it on the top to see if it still spins or if it stops. If it spins after touching then your egg is most likely not frozen (this is due to the yolk and egg white momentum on one side of the egg). However, if it stops as soon as you touch it then it’s most likely frozen.
Another way to tell is to spin a regular egg and spin a frozen/boiled egg, the frozen/boiled egg will spin much faster.
Are fresh eggs ruined if they freeze?
Fresh eggs are good to consume as long as they are not cracked. If the eggshell has been cracked, then it could have been exposed to harmful bacteria and you should definitely not eat it. However, if the egg is frozen and not cracked, then yes you can still eat it safely.
It’s worth noting that if your eggs do freeze and you plan on using them still, it’s best to place them in a bowl to thaw out slowly. If you were to put them into an egg carton and there were cracks in the eggs, this could make a real mess.
I’ve seen some people say to feed eggs back to their chickens instead of throwing them out. I caution you NOT to do this. Once chickens get a taste for their own eggs, you could have a real problem with them eating their own eggs from then on. It’s really not worth the hassle, just throw the egg out.
How do you prevent chicken eggs from freezing?
The number one way to prevent your chicken eggs from freezing is to collect them as soon as possible. It only takes an egg around 36 minutes to freeze once the egg has reached the above-mentioned freezing point of 32 degrees. Remember though, an egg when it emerges is right at 100 degrees and will take a while to cool down. Generally, you want to check the eggs as often as you can, but reasonably you can check every couple of hours. Collecting eggs is an easy job for the kiddos, and they tend to really enjoy getting eggs, so make sure to enlist their help!
For your laying boxes, hens usually lay their eggs in the morning, so it’s important that your laying boxes are facing east to where the sun’s rays can hit the box first thing in the morning to warm it up. This is for when you are just putting in your laying boxes or can move them around easily.
As for insulating the boxes, straw is the absolute best insulator for the eggs. If you normally use shavings, you’ll want to swap to straw for the wintertime. Straw is hollow and will retain heat from when the hen was laying after she’s already left the laying box. Also, a chicken can get through quite a small opening to get into their laying boxes, covering some of the openings with cloth can retain the heat from the chicken after she leaves. A great use for some old shirts you don’t need anymore!
Some people can get carried away with their laying boxes. I’ve seen people with 15 hens have 6-8 laying boxes, which is just way too many boxes. Fifteen Chickens will normally pick 1-2 spots to lay their eggs in, even if you have a lot of boxes. This is actually a great help in the wintertime since only one chicken can lay an egg at a time per box. When one chicken gets up, another one is right behind it, therefore if you have two laying boxes and around 15 chickens, it may take your chickens all morning to lay their eggs, thereby heating the eggs for you all morning when usually it’s the coldest out. To help with this scenario, I wouldn’t have more than 3 boxes per 15 chickens. Also, it’s a good idea to make sure your chickens aren’t getting too cold during the winter months, I wrote an entire article on how to keep your chickens warm in winter, if you’d like to check it out!
What Breeds of Chickens are Best for Cold Environments?
Some breeds of Chickens are just suited more for cold weather. I’ve written an article that goes over which breeds of chickens are best for cold environments, check it out if you have time!