Egg questions

[GlitterKitty]

I was wondering how long an egg can be in a fridge before it gets rotten. We took out an egg the other day and it smelt like it. And also my one hen always has blood specs on her eggs. She is what I believe to be a Black Australorp. We don't know how old she is, we got her as an adult, and this summer she'll be one. Any help greatly appreciated!

Thanks

 

[Tiramisu]

Was it yours? If it was did you collect that day? Did you wash it? I would say several months it should last if collected soon washed lightly or not, if it isn't dirty.

Small blood specs are not anything to be concerned about, all it is is when the egg is forming a small blood vessel may break.
I don't know if a lot of blood in an egg consistantly is bad though.

 

[GlitterKitty]

Yes they egg is mine. But they are not several months old. It's just that when we open them they stink and their fresh.... A couple times the hens will sit on them, could that be the cause?

 

[Tiramisu]

Quote:
They smell rotten when you open them? Are the eggs runny looking or not looking good? Is there anything that has gone bad by them, the smell might be getting in the egg.
How long was the hen sitting on them? If it was warm and for a few days that might make it go bad..im not sure.

 

[underground chickenman]

Clean, unwashed eggs, gathered at least daily, if not two or three times daily in hot weather, should stay useable for at least a couple of months in the refrigerator. In fact, they will last several weeks at room temperature. If you wash them, you significantly decrease the shelf life and I definitely wouldn't store washed eggs at room temperature. The rotten egg smell is a dead give away. Toss anything suspect.

UGCM

 

[GlitterKitty]

Thanks guys...I wash the eggs when I get them but their always stored in the fridge. And they only sit on the while their laying an egg. They act all broody then when i come out there the eggs are freezing...

I guess I'll just starte paying more attention

 

[LeahOregon]

I've heard that if hens eat onions or garlic it can taint the smell/taste of an egg. Is there any way they might have gotten into something like that? Chives? Shallots?

 

[A.T. Hagan]

The longest I've every personally kept any of the eggs we produced in the fridge was four months. Pretty watery by then, but still usable.

There's a Mother Earth News article on egg preservation where they kept store-bought eggs (washed, sanitized, oiled) in the fridge for six months and were still edible. Definitely Grade B by then, but still edible

An egg that was contaminated by the time you put it in the refrigerator may not keep long at all.

.....Alan.