Found a stash of hidden eggs--safe to use?

[CrazyCatLady76]

My chickens just started laying (that we know of) a little over a week ago. Yield has been fairly low and sporadic, but that's normal for new layers so I didn't think anything of it. This morning, though, I found one of them in a tiny hole one of the dogs had dug back into the bank near a retaining wall. There were a dozen eggs of varying sizes in there.

I don't know how long these things have been sitting outside, but I'd say no more than a couple/three days in most cases. (There are a couple really tiny ones that I assume are older, but most are bigger than the ones I got Monday and Tuesday.) Should I pitch them, or can I use them?

Even if they're not safe for us to have, could I scramble them for the various critters?

 

[Newbie in Screamer Al]

Scramble them babies for your chickens if in doubt. There are more coming, so be safe. They say you can put eggs in water to see if they are bad, some will sink or float. I am not sure which is which, but someone will pipe in with the right answer for that one....... R

 

[buckbeak]

Sinking eggs are good, floating eggs are bad.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The float test is an indication of age. It does not tell you if they are good or bad. An egg that sinks is fresher than an egg that floats. An egg that sinks is most likely safe, so it is a good indication.

As the egg ages, it loses moisture through the shell and the air sac gets bigger. A fresh egg will lay flat on the bottom of a bowl of water. If it has aged a while, it should stand on end, pointy side down. And after it ages a while longer, it will float to the top.

Older eggs are more suspicious, but unless bacteria has found its way inside, they are still safe. I think it is always a good idea to break them into a separate bowl so you don't mix them with something you have to throw away, even if I "know" they are fresh. For found eggs like yours, I would do the sniff test before I opened them or boiled them. If they smell bad, toss them.

Any eggs that I am unsure of, I feed back to the chickens. But I have plenty of eggs for my use. Your situation may be different.