Found an egg-not sure about it

[Bitofablonde]

Hey all!

I was stirring up the bedding just now when an egg popped out. One of our hens was hovering a lot too, which is unlike them they usually go running when I bring the rake in and start mixing things up.

Anywho, my question is, I don't know how old the egg is, so is it safe to eat?
Could easily have been laid in the last 24-48hrs. I forgot to mix the bedding yesterday.

Thanks!

 

[Ruby Rogue]

There's no way to really tell...put it in a glass of water, if it sinks, it's probably good, if it floats, it's questionable. Crack it and use your senses.

 

[tripletfeb]

Yup, you can eat it. Eggs can stay sitting out and still be good for weeks

 

[Bitofablonde]

Thats true @tripletfeb I think will also try the glass method, just in case.

Thanks!

 

[NatJ]

Putting the egg in water is a way to get a rough idea of how old the egg is.
If you KNOW the egg cannot be more than a few days, there is no point.

The older the egg is, the more moisture evaporates from it, and eventually it has so much air inside that it floats. So an egg that floats is almost certainly pretty old.

But an egg that sinks might be bad or good, and you can't tell which until you crack it open, look, and sniff.

If the egg is less than 24 hours old, assume it is fine.

If it is less than about 3 days old, assume it is fine too unless you have a rooster AND it was warm enough to start growing a chick (under a broody hen, or the coop was over 90 degrees).

If it's older than about 3 days, I would sniff the egg (discard if it smells bad.) If it smells normal from the outside, crack it into a bowl to look & sniff more carefully. If it still seems fine, cook & eat as usual.

 

[Bitofablonde]

Thats really good information to know, thank you @NatJ Love learning from this community!

 

[aart]

Reiterating what @NatJ posted......

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.