I have had my own laying hens for about 12 years now! Love them and their production (currently getting ~6/day from our 7 hens)!! Another thing about fresh eggs is, hard boiled eggs are more difficult to peel when they are very fresh. Best to let them chill for 20-30 days before doing the hard boiled thing (unless you have mastered one of those peeling methods that would not be affected by the thicker more fragmented shells). The best method I have found for getting hard boiled eggs to peel more easily is, boil them till pretty much done, then put them in a ice/water bath for 30 seconds, then put them back into the boiling water for a minute or two then let cool at room temp. YMMV!