Found 73 eggs!!

[Cazook]

hahah amazing. the biggest secret nest i found was a dozen. i wonder what would've happened if one of your hens went missing then turned up a month later with 73 chicks in tow? can one hen even sit on that many eggs? crazy

 

[ChocolateWingTheRooster]

Woulda been a big surprise if 73 chicks had hatched!

hahah amazing. the biggest secret nest i found was a dozen. i wonder what would've happened if one of your hens went missing then turned up a month later with 73 chicks in tow? can one hen even sit on that many eggs? crazy

It would! I wouldn’t know what to do with all of those chicks!

And some would’ve hatched if my usual broody, Plucky, would’ve gone up there... as I have a rooster.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Wow! I miss the days of finding secret nests! Now my poor hens have to stay in an enclosed run most of the time because, you know...foxes, raccoons, mink...

 

[Heihei4]

I have 4 hens and this makes me want to go wander around- and egg hunt!! I have days where I get 0 or 1 egg a day and others where I get all 4 !

 

[humblehillsfarm]

I am late to the discussion here, but I had a hen I thought had never laid an egg in her young life (one year old). I found her stash of 20 eggs hiding outside in the woods and did the float test on all of them. To be clear, the float test indicates freshness, but not necessarily spoilage. All of the eggs sank so I decided to use them. I cracked each into a bowl, did the sniff test and a visual check. Over the course of a week I ate every single one of those eggs and didn't get sick. I wouldn't toss them, or at the very least I'd make them dog food but most of those eggs are probably still good unless you live in a super hot climate.

 

[aart]

I'd chuck them all.

Two words: FLOAT TEST!

Floating an egg will only tell you how old it might be.

They float due to evaporation when older.

It will not tell you if an egg is 'good' or 'bad'.

Plus then you've wetted the egg so it should be thoroughly washed and refrigerated.


When in doubt....
Open eggs one at a time in a separate dish before adding to pan or recipe,
use your eyes, nose, and common sense to decide if egg is OK to eat.

 

[Show Sebright]

That is so funny. I found my chickens buring there eggs. I found 9 eggs but 73 is a lot! That gose for show “just because you can find the eggs doesn’t mean they aren’t laying.”

 

[Boskat]

73 eggs divide by three that's 24 days assuming each hen lays an egg every day of the week. Definitely dog food or scramble them and feed back to the flock. Looks like a hidden Guinea flock nest.

I am kinda still in shock... Probably will just give them to the cats and chickens, as both really like eggs...

But here’s the thing I was wondering about... how long have my chickens been laying here!? Only three chickens were involved in this!

View attachment 2123151

Haha! How funny! I found 27 eggs under a tarp from 5 hens. I had just cleaned the barn really thoroughly and added new hay, replaced roosts, feeders etc. (spring cleaning) I thought my hens suddenly stopped laying as only a few eggs were appearing in their roost box. Then I noticed my youngest hen acting broody by the tarp and found their stash. It had only been a week since I moved the folded tarp so I had a general idea how old the eggs were. I didn’t want to waste all of them, so I did the egg test for freshness. You probably know how to do that, but just in case you don’t or perhaps a novice may find this helpful, I’ll briefly explain. Simply fill a container with enough cool water to completely cover eggs PLUS a few extra inches. Gently place eggs in container. Eggs that sink completely or stay at the bottom are fresh. Eggs that float in the middle or rise to the top are bad. Some people still eat the eggs that slightly float off bottom, but don’t completely float to the top. I don’t. I’m picky and when in doubt, I just don’t do it. Remove the good eggs & refrigerate. Leave the bad ones (floaters and risers) in the pot of water and hard boil or scramble them. Then feed back to the hens! Hens LOVE their own eggs. I take a sharpie and put an X on the hard boiled eggs to keep them separate from fresh. I do the same when leaving them raw before I scramble, just to avoid confusing them and having to retest again. You can also just fill a tall glass of water and test one egg at a time. Anyway! Hens are GREAT! Even as pets and not for profit, they leave you little surprise gifts like that from time to time! Even their “questionable” eggs provide treats for the dogs and other pets... as well as themselves!

 

[Waves]

Oh my god! Absolutely awesome nest .
My chickens are very habitual!
Really interested in what cames out of them

 

[Gold Griffin Chicken Mom]

I remember one time in the 1970s (I was single digits aged) my parents came inside with buckets of eggs.... It had been very cold for Charleston, SC, and had thought the hens had gone on strike because of the season.

Nope! The little hussies were hiding eggs behind the henhouse. Mom and Dad had on big overcoats. I lost count of how many eggs they pulled from their pockets. About the time their pockets were overflowing they realized the magnitude of the situation and grabbed buckets. The eggs were frozen, so little danger of pocket egg surprise.

I called a friend’s mother and grandmother to come get some eggs, but we still had our refrigerator full of egg cartons for weeks.