Found egg in run, safe to eat or balut?

[FortCluck]

Of course you are right, health is paramount. But I'm still in the phase where the WORTH of the egg may be only 25 cents, but the COST to me is still around $50 per egg!

$50 per egg?

 

[gtaus]

$50 per egg?

Yes, this is my first year with laying hens and I put in over $1000 in building the coop, run, supplies, etc... My pullets just started laying eggs, so if you take $1000/20 eggs so far that makes the COST of about $50 per egg. Of course that cost per egg will go down rapidly as the hens start laying eggs every day. But I laugh at people who think they will raise backyard chickens for "free" eggs. Nothing free about these eggs, but well worth my time, money and effort in the project which I have really enjoyed. I joke about my COST per egg because I can buy big box store eggs for 68 cents per dozen on sale last week.

 

[BaaKaaawk]

Of course you are right, health is paramount. But I'm still in the phase where the WORTH of the egg may be only 25 cents, but the COST to me is still around $50 per egg!

Haha, indeed. Wait until you start really doing chicken math. You will find out the WORTH will never, ever catch up with the COST. BUT, that said, the VALUE and benefit to you of keeping chickens, will far outweigh the COST! Chicken Math at its finest!

WORTH < COST
COST < VALUE
Therefore
VALUE > COST + WORTH

That makes sense somehow.

 

[gtaus]

Haha, indeed. Wait until you start really doing chicken math. You will find out the WORTH will never, ever catch up with the COST. BUT, that said, the VALUE and benefit to you of keeping chickens, will far outweigh the COST! Chicken Math at its finest!

WORTH < COST
COST < VALUE
Therefore
VALUE > COST + WORTH

That makes sense somehow.

I have had a number of Mathematics courses at the Master's level in college, but your Chicken Math explanation is worth a thesis.
Thank you for clearly explaining the situation.

 

[gtaus]

Just to put a close on this thread, since I water tested the egg and it passed, I decided to hard boil the egg (with others) this evening. When I cracked it open, it smelled fine and looked good, so I ate it. Yum, yum. Happy ending.

 

[aart]

Toss it.

Put it in water. If it sinks it should be good. If it was loose in the run, it most likely was not sat upon. Otherwise you would have noticed a broody on it.

I agree

NOpe.
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.

That's reason to believe it's been sitting in the leaves for awhile. GC

Or it rained, once.

 

[gtaus]

Toss it.

Too late. Already hard boiled and eaten.

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.

That is good advice with ANY eggs, even if you believe they are new.

 

[gtaus]

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.

Don't understand how age of an egg and whether or not it is "good" or "bad" are not the same, would you please explain?

Normally, I don't wash my fresh eggs because I know it will remove the bloom and then the egg must be refrigerated. I do, however, brush off or wipe off the egg shell if there is a bit of pine shavings attached. As long as you don't use water, the egg should still be fresh with its bloom coating, right? Or will the action of brushing or wiping off the egg remove the bloom?

 

[aart]

Don't understand how age of an egg and whether or not it is "good" or "bad" are not the same, would you please explain?

An egg could be a month or two old, and float due to evaporation(as liquid evaporates, air infiltrates), but still be edible(not rotten). Does that make sense?

 

[Ginmary]

Yes, I open the floaters, one at a time. If they are good (yolk intact, no smell) they get scrambled for the girls. I noticed that the older but still good ones will gently float up to the surface. The bad ones have the gas developing and they will POP up to the surface.