Are these eggs still good?

mn farm gal

Songster
May 12, 2021
27
61
109
SW MN
I have a turkey hen I recently was gifted from a neighbor. The first egg she layed was in the coop, as they were locked in the coop/run all weekend. Long story short, now that they are free ranging again I couldn't catch her in the act. I just found the nest with 6 eggs in it. So since the 3 of Sept until now they have been layed. We have had some 90 degree days. Are they still good to eat?

I'm going to leave two eggs and mark them so when she layes more I'll know the new from the old
 
The eggs might be good to eat.

To be sure, you can crack one egg at a time into a bowl, look at it, and sniff. If it looks fine and smells fine, then it's safe to cook and eat. Dump the good egg out of the bowl before you crack the next one, so one bad egg does not contaminate the good eggs you've already checked.

Other methods that can give partial information:

--candle the egg. If there is a chick developing inside, you probably do not want to eat it. With the temperatures you have been having, if the eggs were fertile, they might have started to develop.

--you can sniff the egg before you open the shell. If it smells even through the shell, there is no point in cracking it open, because you know you don't want to eat it.

--if you put the eggs in water, new eggs sink and old eggs float. In your case, since the oldest egg cannot be more than 2 weeks old, I think they will all sink. The floating or sinking is based on how much moisture evaporates from the egg over time, and does not actually measure anything about safety. Bbut if an egg is old enough to float, it is also more likely to be rotten just because of how long it's been sitting around.
 
I don't know turkeys but assume they are similar enough to chickens. The eggs should be fine. NatJ's post is right on. Consider that the hen will lay plenty of eggs before she sits on the nest. Those eggs have to remain viable until she is ready to sit or she wouldn't be able to hatch them. When fertilized they won't start developing at all until they are at about 100°F. Of course unfertilized eggs won't do anything.

I once found a nest of 13 eggs, all one hen, and they were all good.
 
Thank you! That's what I was thinking. Hubby is skeptical but that's fine, either I'll have a turkey omelette everyday this weekend or I won't :p
 
Time wise those eggs are considered fresh. Heat wise it will depend. No Tom for over 30 days then they are fine.If they are fertilized I would take them to a dark place and shine a flash light such as on your phone into the air cell and check for veins or loose yolks.
 

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