Can we eat these?

[niccichick]

Hi Everyone;

This is NicciChick. Haven't posted in awhile because the end of the school year has been hectic. Anyway, my girls have gone through a molting in the past two weeks, VERY crabby and squacky; pecking at me every time I go in their coop. They have been extremely broody, sitting in their nesting boxes, for hours on end, not laying eggs and not wanting to share the space with other girls so they could lay eggs. Their egg production dropped to only 2-4 eggs a day out of my 10 hens, which I expected with a molt. Their diet has not changed at all except that our peach tree came ripe and drops easily 2 dozen peaches a day on the ground right in their coop, which they love, but tends to run right through them. So, it's been a race to get to the peaches before they eat so much they end up with runny poops. I figured this was perhaps part of the reason they weren't laying. Mom and I did exhaustive research on your site to figure out what possible problems could be, they had none of those; thank goodness.
Well, I went out to clean the coop just now and I think I know what happened! They dug a nest under our blackberry bush which is inside the back corner of their coop. They have all been laying under it using the bush as protection and cover! Mom and I pulled out 18 eggs! They probably have been in their from today as far back as 2 weeks ago. Is it safe to still eat these eggs? I have thoroughly washed, cleaned, and dried each egg. I filled a deep bowl with water and tried the "float" test and none of them floated or stood upright at all. They all stayed on the bottom of the deep bowl and rolled to either if I tipped it, not showing any signs of floating. Is this all I need to do to determine them safe enough to eat? What else should I do, if anything to make sure they are safe to eat? Or, do I chalk it up to a learning curve and throw them all away, or hard boil them and feed them back to the girls for the protein and calcium in the shells. Thanks so much for any input anyone can offer me. Below is a picture you all might find humurous.



Blessings,
NicciChick

 

[CSisley]

I cannot say definitively if they are safe to eat (too much liability involved these days!) but I usually abide by the following rule: If you crack the egg open and the yolk immediately breaks open and spreads like pancake batter, it's no good. If it has a smell, definitely no good! Otherwise I'd say they're fair game, but that's just me.

 

[CarolJ]

I would cook them and feed them back to the chickens. I just wouldn't eat anything that's been sitting outside for two weeks - but that's just me.

 

[niccichick]

Thanks so much everyone. I was thinking that I needed to feed them back to my girls. It's just so hard to give up all those yummy eggs!! My customers have been calling and wanting eggs so badly, they're very popular with all our healthy family friends who enjoy our girls produce. I definitely did not want to sell any of them, figured we'd as a family eat them. But, now that I've read your input I think I'll play it safe and feed it all back to the girls. Who knows, maybe it will help them reach "jumbo" size!

Blessings,
NIcciChick

 

[Suzie]

Easy!

Just put them in water ( enough to cover them ) if they float they are not good!! If they lay on their side they are very fresh - if they stay submerged but are upright they are still OK to eat!

Suzie