Eating unfertilized eggs after they have been incubated

[Debbie292d]

Is there a way to tell if eggs have been set on by broody hen?I had a hen setting on nest for 10 days and I went out of town for a week.When I got back she was in a different box on eggs.The person I had looking after them said she had been in that box since I left.He had to have gathered the eggs she had been on for the 10 days.I dont know witch eggs they are.What should I do???

I would candle them. Just go out there at night with the brightest flashlight you own, or use the flashlight on your phone and look to see if there's a small blob in there with some veins. If you see nothing at all, that's most likely a fresh(er) egg.

 

[Susan Skylark]

Why do people keep asking this? Unless you are starving, it is a bad idea, as well as an unappetizing one, but then people eat testicles and kidneys so I guess we’ll eat anything! While the eggs may not have bacteria inside, the shells (unless completely cleaned of organic material) are a perfect garden for bacteria (warm, moist, food) and should be boiled or baked or microwaved if you plan to feed them to anything. Even if your eggs are sanitized with something preincubation , if you haven’t washed off the bloom, the remaining fecal material, etc will be recolonized by bacteria from your hands or the environment, and by washing off the bloom you make the eggs themselves vulnerable to bacterial colonization, either way, ugh!