One of my EE's just laid her first egg today. I was wondering after how long of it being outside should I just throw it away? I live in Texas and right now we're having 105 weather. I plan on checking every morning to see if I have any eggs, but what about if one is laid during the day? Im assuming they(the eggs) should go straight into the frig? Do I just have to check a couple times a day? Sorry for all the questions, but Im new at all this.
If you're sure it was laid that day, it should be ok, but if you will be selling any eggs, you might want to put the ones you find out like that in a separate carton, and keep them for home use only. Then you can crack them into a cup or bowl to check them before adding them to anything or putting them in the pan. If an egg is bad, you'll know! One of my dogs finds eggs the hens lay out in the fields, brings then up and leaves them in the driveway. Usually they're ok. When I wash them, I pay attention to whether they float, or if the end tips up in the water. A fresh egg will lay sideways, not so fresh (or sometimes an egg will tip up a bit if it has cracks, air gets in) will tip up a bit, but still fine to eat, older they stand on end, still ok to eat, mostly for baking or hard-boiling, bad ones will float. Bob right up like little corks. I toss those. Some people say to let your eggs get old enough to float before you hard boil them, but I never have, and I'd rather eat fresher eggs. I recently had one that had apparently sat in the hot sun, It didn't float or tip, but when I cracked it open, part of the yolk was partially cooked and stuck to the shell. I threw it out! We were all new once, and all asked questions! Still do, for that matter, there's always something new to learn.
