hens ate foam insulation: how long till the eggs are safe?

[Tahai]

Hi All.

My hens decided, out of the blue, that the foam core insulation roof on their outside landing pad was tasty. Over the course of 2 days, they put a serious dent in it.

Now the eggs smell like foam core and taste chemically. How long do you think it will be before the eggs are safe to eat again?

Should I just turn the timer light off, and let them go dormant till Feb/March? Or should I tough it out and assume the eggs will be OK in a week or two?

Thanks for your insight.

Tahai

 

[donrae]

My birds have eaten a serious amount of Styrofoam in the past and I never noticed anything off about the eggs. I would think anything eaten that effected the taste would be cleared from the system in a matter of days. I'd just keep cracking eggs and see how they smell.

 

[Tahai]

Thanks donrae.

This is a sheet of insulation product used for construction, not Styrofoam, so it's loaded with all kinds of nasties. Under normal circumstances they would not have been able to reach it, but the snow piled up high enough last week to put them in range.

 

[JeepersCreepers]

My hens have eaten spray insulation from their coop but never had any negative repercussions. I would assume, though, that your eggs would be fine in a couple of weeks once the chickens have processed the chemicals out of their systems. I agree with donrae, keep cracking and checking the smell.

 

[Tahai]

It took about 2 weeks before the off smell was no longer noticeable. I should mention that the smell was not in the raw egg. It was only when the eggs were cooking that I could smell the 'chemicalyness'. The cooked eggs also had an off taste.