Four hidden eggs! Still good?

[AllTheChickenThings]

Hi Everyone! We have 4 girls, no roosters, and only one is laying so far. She laid her first egg on 10/23. Since then we have collected 3 eggs. Today I went to clean out the coop and found 4 buried in the wood shavings by the door. Is there any reason they wouldnt be good or safe to eat?

I was thinking it’s not much different than if they were on our counter and since she started laying so recently, they should be ok but I could be wrong…Also, this means she has laid an egg almost every single day! Sidenote, we have learned to check more thoroughly for eggs.

 

[Chookchicken]

Float test them. Put them in a bowl of water. If they float they are bad and if they sink they are good.

 

[AllTheChickenThings]

Float test them. Put them in a bowl of water. If they float they are bad and if they sink they are good.

I was thinking of doing the float test but wasn’t sure if it would work. I will test them! Thank you!

 

[NatJ]

Is there any reason they wouldnt be good or safe to eat?

There is a very good chance they are fine.

Take a sniff-- if you smell a rotten egg, discard it.

Then crack each egg into a bowl, look and sniff again, and if it seems fine you can cook it like usual.

(This works on all eggs, of all ages.)

I was thinking of doing the float test but wasn’t sure if it would work. I will test them!

A float test won't tell you much, since you already know how old the eggs must be.

Putting the egg in water to see if it floats can tells how big the air cell is.
Since the air cell gets bigger with time, this gives some idea of how old the egg might be.
You could tell the same thing by candling (go in a dark room and shine a flashlight through the egg.) A bigger air cell means an older egg.

But finding that an egg sinks or floats, or looking at the size of the air cell, does not tell you anything about whether the egg is actually spoiled or not.

 

[Mrs. K]

When I was a child, people ALWAY opened their eggs into a bowl, often times it was in the recipe directions, before adding it to a recipe. A rotten egg is very obvious. There is really no doubt.

Mrs K

 

[aart]

Float test them. Put them in a bowl of water. If they float they are bad and if they sink they are good.

This^^^ is not true.

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....or every time.
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.

 

[AllTheChickenThings]

Thank you everyone! So far so good and we found 3 more the next day (one was freshly laid and still warm) so that puts her at almost an egg a day. Amazing!