Eating fertilized eggs after sitting in coop?

SunnyDayz

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We went out of town for a week and our chicken keepers only reported a few eggs
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I though my girls missed me!
Well, when I got home I found 19 eggs under the floor of the coop! (they have never laid there before, and haven't since).
I scooped them all up and put them in the fridge.

We do have a roo, so I assume our eggs are fertile. If the eggs sat in the coop for 5-7 days are they okay to eat?
None of our hens are broody, but it is still very warm here (86 today!).

Just wondering and hoping that none of these eggs have developed yet
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You may get some surprises if you crack them into a bowl. Personally, I'd discard them.

If you do keep them, crack each one into a bowl before adding to and spoiling other ingredients. A little embryo isn't going to work well for cakes.
 
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They have been in the fridge for a few days now. I'm glad I haven't cracked one yet. They passed the sick/float test but I kinda forgot about the embryo thing.
 
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Yep, I put them in the fridge. I don't have an incubator either.
I'm getting close to buying one though! ...just not for this batch
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Can I candle them...and will I see anything? The oldest egg in the batch would be 6 days old (6 days in the warm coop before refridgeration).
My hens are young... 6-7 months old. Does that make a difference?
 
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This happens to me on a regular basis, and I've never got a shock when cracking the eggs, although you can see that some are clearly fertile. In my opinion, and based on personal experience, I would say they'll be just fine for eating. I live in Thailand, and I can assure you, it's very, very hot here, but the eggs still don't develop unless there's a broody on them. Some Thais have told me the eggs will develop, but I'm yet to see it.

Unfortunately all of my hens are broody just now so I'm having to eat those pale yellow things you buy in the store
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That's the problem with these native Thai chickens..................they just need to see an egg and they go broody on you. Honestly, the breed like rabbits:lol:, but oh well, it does keep the freezer full.
 
They're fine. They won't develop without a hen sitting on them or being in an incubator. If you're worried about it just crack them into a bowl before using them.
 
Won't be a problem....I just found a nest of a dozen or so that had been up in my hay barn for who knows how long. We did the sink test and found them all good there....then we proceeded to use them for my old dog's daily 2 eggs on her food. Every egg used was fresh looking and had no development, though we hadn't gotten that many eggs since the beginning of summer....so I know these were up in that nest for a long time. And that particular hay bale was placed right up under the hot tin roof.
 

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