Found where my bird was laying..are the eggs good to eat?

[Lalaglenn]

We have 3 Americanas and I just found a spot were one was laying. We had been wondering why we were not getting alot of blue eggs and as I watch one come from around the shed..umm to my surprise I found 2 dozen of them. I know they haven't been sitting on them as I see each one free ranging in the yard, so my question is are they good enough to eat?.

 

[LoveMyChickenBabies]

I wouldn't trust it. Throw them all out.

 

[Mosey2003]

If the spot they're laying isn't damp, they're probably okay. First, you can float test them. This won't tell you if they're good or bad, mind, but it will tell you which are the oldest. I would toss any that stand straight up or float, and keep only ones that lay flat in water. Then, personally, I would crack each into a bowl before I used it and give it a good sniff. If it smelled fine, I'd cook it well and call it good.

If you're risk averse, you could just cook a few of them up every day and feed back to your birds.

 

[Gray Farms]

I'd toss them. They might be ok but do you want to be the one who gets the bad one?

 

[Relleoms]

Oh boy, silly chickies! Some have probably been there at least 3 weeks, so unless more than one chicken has been laying there or if you know which are new & which are old, I’d probably err on the side of caution & toss or scramble and feed back to your girls.

 

[LlamaGirl4]

I would cook them and then toss em back at the chickens

 

[Col1948]

Leave them on the front door step of that horrible neighbour lol.

Just kidding... but then again

 

[lcwmt]

Every two weeks or so we have to find the eggs from the Banty. We bring them to room temp, "float test" (as per Mosey's comment) then place in a clearly labeled carton. Each egg is broken into a bowl before being used. So far, no issues except for the clearly frozen eggs last Feb. Those all got pitched.
Bad eggs make themselves known!

 

[Broodygranny]

Mosey2003 is right, and you can float test them to see how old they are. Eggs loose moisture as they age. Moisture evaporates and the air cells get larger. Thats why fresh eggs sink when put in water and old eggs float. It is always best to crack any egg in a separate bowl before putting into a dish. Any egg could have gotten some random bacteria in it, even if it came from the barn. But if its fresh, it looks good, and smells good, then it is fine to eat. Make sure any egg, even those from the grocery store are cooked well before eating to avoid food poisoning.

 

[HuffleClaw]

I'd toss them. They might be ok but do you want to be the one who gets the bad one?

X2

Couldn’t agree more! That’s a lot of eggs for 1 chicken to lay, even with a float test (which isn’t always accurate), it can be hard to tell. I’d just play it safe and toss those eggs.