Are eggs edible after broody fail

[chick_magnet]

I have a hen that went broody with about 15 eggs appx. If I candle them at day 10 would the infertile one still be edible. I never candle eggs before thats why I'm wait until day ten, for easier recognition.
Thank you

 

[stormylady]

I would not eat the eggs , I don't think that it is safe because a hen really heats them eggs up when sitting. I wouldn't eat eggs that have been sitting in 100* weather either for 10 days and it amounts to the same thing for me. I have opened eggs that a broody had been sitting on, that candled as clear and when opened the white part was almost like water and the yolk was a runny mess. My opinion would just be toss em. Better to be safe than sorry. Sandy

 

[Ole rooster]

How long did she sit on the eggs? Heating them up does get things started but that does take a while.

 

[sourland]

How long did she sit on the eggs? Heating them up does get things started but that does take a while.

NO! She's talking about after 10 days of incubation.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I bet after you cracked them open, you'd change your mind about eating them- ick I scramble "broody fail" eggs and feed them to the chickens, but definately would eat them myself. Good luck...

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might look up "Balut".

Whether the egg goes bad to where it is not safe to eat depends on whether bacteria is present. If bacteria is present, the egg goes bad, whether it is fertitlized or not and whether it has started to develop or not. If bacteria is present, the nutrients inside the egg are really good for that bacteria feeding and multiplying, and incubation temperature is just about perfect for rapid growth. Eggs can go for a long time without going bad if bacteria is not present. If bacteria is present, they go bad pretty fast, especially at incubation temperatures.

So it is quite possible that the egg is safe to eat, especially if cooked properly. But your question was whether it was edible, not safe. I personally could not get past the yuk factor and eat it, so while it may be safe, to me it is not edible.

 

[Pele]

It's highly recommended that you do NOT eat those eggs, unless you want to spend a good amount of time becoming familiarized with your bathroom. Eggs that fail to incubate have been kept in ideal bacteria breeding conditions for days. Most likely when you break them open they'll stink so bad that you'll have problems keeping your lunch (personal experience here when I did an eggtopsy). The stench is... a thing unto it's own.

There are Asian dishes out there that age eggs, but that is for years in a sealed environment to ensure all bacterial growth has died. Balut is not an egg gone bad. It's a duck egg that has been incubated to the point where it has an almost fully formed fetus, then it is hard-boiled and eaten while the bones/bill/feathers are soft. It's considered a delicacy in the Phillipines.

 

[Ridgerunner]

I agree that eggs with bacteria in them should absolutely not be eaten. You will know when you crack them, like Pele said.

I almost never have a bad egg when I do eggtopsies. It's been years since I had one and I hope to never have another.