Egg holders are like chickens. You can't have just one. Or two, or three, or four, or five ...
Today isn't the day, but one day I'll tell you how many egg baskets and holders I own. I'm feeling kind of vulnerable at the moment so I'm not ready for you know my specific level of crazy.
O.K., I have 13 egg baskets.
Any chicken owner knows that's how many egg holders you need. Minimum. For the winter you need a small one because you're aren't getting as many eggs and in the summer you need a big one for the non stop egg production. That brings us up to a total of two egg baskets, one for summer and one for winter. Then you need a bunch more because that's just the way it is when you're chicken mental.
The truth is I just haven't found the perfect egg holder. There's this one that I made and really like but it doesn't hold enough eggs.
The perfect egg holder is nice to look at, doesn't take up too much counter space, holds at LEAST a dozen eggs and is easy to put eggs into and get out of. The very best egg holder will helps you distinguish the newer eggs from the older ones.
Find an egg holder like that and you've hit the holy grail, pack up shop, you don't need to look any more egg holder. None of mine check all those boxes, but the most elusive is being able to help you keep your older eggs separate from your newer ones.
You may have seen the egg skelter which is basically a cage that you keep on your counter. It looks like a roller coaster that someone put through a spiralizer. You put a new egg on top and take them out from the bottom. This way you're always using up the oldest eggs first with no confusion as to which is which. If you put all your eggs in one basket, (hahahahaha!) your older eggs always end up at the bottom of the basket and when you pull one out they get mixed up with the newer ones. It's a fresh egg mess.
Now that the chickens are back into full egg production I'm starting to get overrun with eggs. They've filled my winter egg basket plus they've spilled out onto the counter. Yesterday I sat down and designed an easy Egg holder for my kitchen island that ticks all of my egg holder requirements PLUS it was easy to make. You just need a slab of wood, a saw and some wood glue.
DIY Egg Holder
Materials
12" x 18" piece of 1" pine
Wood glue
Saw
Clamps or heavy books
Instructions
- Cut 6, ½" slices off the end of of your board.
2. Lay your cut slices on the board with 2.5" in between each one and take a look. The 3 middle slices need to have their ends cut off because they'll extend past the board a bit.
3. Mark where to cut the slices and cut the ends off. Reserve these small pieces. Do NOT throw them out.
4. Now that all your pieces are cut, lightly sand the edges to take the sharpness off. (optional)
5. Lightly mark where your rails go with a pencil. Remove them and spread glue on the individual pieces and where they're going to lay. Let them sit for a couple of minutes to get slightly tacky so they don't slip when you lay them down.
6. Clamp all of your rails. if you don't have clamps you can put a board over the whole thing ...
and stack a LOT of heavy books on top. Leave it for at least an hour.
7. Remove the books and glue and clamp the little nubs you cut off and reserved to the end of the board where the rails are open. These act as legs that lift the egg holder up slightly at the back.
8. Now all that's left is to add your eggs.
9. Put your oldest eggs in first and your newest ones last. Now when you take an egg from the front of the egg holder you'll use the oldest one first, and the newer ones will roll down.
The egg holder count is officially up to 14.
Swipe over the whole thing with either mineral oil or a board butter made with beeswax and mineral oil. You can find my recipe for Board Butter here.
How does this egg holder hold up against my checklist?
- Nice to look at? ✔ Although if I'm being honest, I really prefer a super plain egg holder that's just a length of wood with a bunch of holes in it. Something like that isn't as convenient for keeping track of egg age though.
2. Doesn't take up too much counter space? ✔ The piece is fairly big, measuring around 18" x 14" but because it's quite flat, visually it doesn't take up too much space.
3. Holds at least a dozen eggs? ✔ It holds TWO dozen eggs. That's 14 eggs for those of you unfamiliar with the term dozen.
4. Easy to put eggs into and get eggs out of? ✔ Yup.
5. Easy to distinguish old eggs from new eggs? ✔ Eggs are constantly rotating with newer eggs falling forward as older eggs are being used up.
O.K. I'm done. I don't need any more egg holders. The cycle is complete.
I just need a few more chickens.
→Follow me on Instagram where I often make a fool of myself←
Lynda Loy
Showing this to the hubby! He recently added to his chicken flock and I can tell this would be really handy! Besides he needs a project!
Vicki
That’s brilliant! Looks cool, too!
Linda Wade
I have a question. I notice you leave your eggs out and do not refrigerate them. How long can you leave them out before they go bad?
Thank you.
Linda
Karen
Hi Linda. If you read this post you'll learn all about backyard chicken eggs and how long they can be left out on the counter. They can be left out at least a month. ~ karen!
Robin
You should patent this !
Erin
Slick.
Your girls lay some beautiful eggs.
Karen Bourdon
I have been told you can keep fresh eggs on the counter but not store bought because of their age they need to be kept refrigerated.
Lyanne Hoefer
Nothing to do with age.....store bought eggs are washed, if they are fresh from your chicken, you don't wash the protective coating off-Mother Nature is MAGICAL!
Karen
I've heard you can keep fresh eggs on the counter, but not store bought because they are so old they have to be kept refrigerated.
Karen
That's a misconception. If you read this post you'll learn all about it. :) ~ karen!
Karen
That was a great post! I'm always up for learning something new :-)
Michelle
Brilliant & beautiful 🙂
Ian Anderson
Oh thank you Karen!
Been struggling with this myself. My current system of an egg tray is a pain as I have to keep moving the eggs forward.
But I'll have to use another solid strip instead of the small legs, as I keep our eggs in the fridge.
Love the simplicity, and better still, it just works!
p.s. here's the pic of our magical transition day, where we eat the last store bought egg and move onto the first of our own... God, I love the Spring :-)
Melissa
Ian, what a fantastic photo!
Karen
The difference is amazing isn't it! And you still have to straighten the eggs once they roll down. Because aren't round, they roll down a bit wonky, lol. ~ karen!
Ian Anderson
Especially when you think there is still snow on the ground here, so they haven't been eating much green stuff, just a few scraps from the kitchen.
Makes me happy about the quality of the feed from the store... (and wonder about the quality of the feed on the commercial farms...)
Lianne Brown
Love it!! Thank you for sharing.
Mary W
Great idea and pretty, too. This may be the next present I have for my granddaughter who has just stepped through that chicken world door. It's all fun and games until you see that new breed you just have to have.
Karen
True! ~ karen
Alice
Karen, if you are in the market for a new chicken, you should consider a Polish Chicken. They are outstandingly beautiful. I don’t know a thing about chickens or their laying habits, but I’d love to see one sitting in your lap!
whitequeen96
I think Karen meant she now has 14 egg holders, and wasn't referring to how many eggs she has. Am I right, Karen?
Caroline Whittaker
We don't have chickens, but do eat a lot of eggs. I need a holder for more than a dozen, otherwise when I buy a new dozen because I'm down to 3 eggs, I end up with an overview bowl.
I like your design, but don't have the space for it sadly. By the way, 2 dozen is 24 (not 14), unless you meant 2 + dozen!
Karen
No, I meant 24, lol. My finger just hit the wrong key. ~ karen!
Stephanie Bauman
I thought you were just testing to see who was paying attention.
Paula
Thanks for clarifying that....I was beginning to think I needed to add a Canadian dozen (14) to my 'dozen knowledge': a Baker's dozen (13) and a dozen (12).
Karen
LOL!! ~ karen
Sachi
I see egg holder, I click. I don't own chickens, and in this tropical heat of Sri Lanka, I doubt we can sit the eggs out on the countertop for too long before they go bad. I still very much dream about that other egg holder you made some time back, with the drilled holes in them? It made me want to get into woodwork! Still haven't made it, but ! You are so much goals Karen! Love you!
Karen
Thanks Sachi! How *are* eggs sold in Sri Lanka? From a cooler or from out in the open? I'm just curious. It's different around the world. ~ karen!
Au-Diya
Oh yeah , it's warm in Malaysia too! Eggs are sold in the open but retailers go through eggs so fast as we are one of the largest consumer of eggs (apparently). Eggs here stay fresh about 1 week in room temp and by room I mean +/- 34CELCIUS while in the cooler they last about 2 1/2 weeks. But maybe the holder will look good placed in a cooler as well eh? Am itching to start making some farmy stuff too heheh
Paula
I love it! My sister got me a holder for Christmas that says Golden Butt Nuggets :)
Cat
Adopt Signe's chickens. They need a home.
Lynne
Ummm...2 doz eggs is 24 not 14!! BUT, that is how I count my chickens when hubby asks me How many I have now! LOL
Karen
Ha! Yes, my finger missed the key when typing. I'll go correct it. ~ karen!
Little Karen on the Prairies
I thought it was a test, like the vloggers who say, hey this is my cat let me know you saw my cat so I know you watched to the end.... Oh vey!
Jen Top
I thought it was like "2 dozen Canadian." harhar
Eileen Anderson
I thought it was your special version of the baker’s dozen. LOL
Debbie D
Love the egg holder and love your eggs (chicken eggs that is). I was thinking about you when I received an email today from Emma Bridgewater (no I don't work for her, or have stock in her company). She has a new rooster line to go with her chicken dishes, etc., (that I just love!). I look for your varieties of chickens on her plates every time I see them. Ah yes! More chickens!
Tina
.
Jenny Durling
I do t get it... I just buy egg cartons and line them up I. The fridge I. The order they were collected. I’ve got 18 hens and 7 ducks laying so I also sell my eggs.
Karen
Well that's why you put them in cartons then. You sell them. So you pull a dozen out of the fridge and hand them over to a person. I have 3 hens, so it could take me 2 weeks to get a dozen eggs at certain times of the year. I want to know which of those 1 or 2 dozen are the freshest because I don't use a dozen at a time. I use 1 or 2 at a time. Does that make sense? Because reading it back I feel like it doesn't, lol. But that's the gist of it anyway. ~ karen!
PegB
Karen, at that rate with three chickens, does that mean you need three more? Or maybe you should just make a smaller egg holder that holds 12-15 eggs for those fewer egg times. Store the larger one for the more productive times. Or get 3 more chickens and sell eggs in cartons. Now I confused me too.
Karen
LOL. Well now I'm confused too. ~ karen!