How hot is too hot?

[LoveHuevos]

I live in the desert where it reaches 110 during the day. My new chickens started laying in a spot where the sun hits them in the afternoon and I can't pick the eggs up until after 1:00. Sometimes when I pick them up later, the eggs are pretty hot. Are they safe to eat if they've been sitting out in the sun and they're really warm? I did the sink/float water test on them and they passed. What are your thoughts?

 

[Wyandottes7]

Well, personally, I wouldn't eat eggs that had been sitting out all day in 100+ degree weather. I'm sure that bacteria can multiply REALLY quickly in weather like that. This is just my opinion.

 

[LoveHuevos]

Thanks.
I read this somewhere on here;
"An eggshell has a protective coating that prevents bacteria from entering the egg. To retain this coating, eggs should not be washed until just before use."
I wonder if the heat will still effect that??

 

[donrae]

I'd eat them, absolutely. Where are the bacteria going to come from? The egg is a closed system.

I'm sure my coop gets over a hundred degrees during the day. I try to gather eggs every day, but sometimes it's two days. I've also had eggs under a broody hen (added by another hen after the broody started setting) that have been under her 2 days and I've eaten them. Never had rotten or otherwise undesirable eggs.

Eggs are actually designed to set out warm while the hen builds a clutch for brooding. Spring and summer are when hens tend to go broody, so eggs are made to set out up to 2 weeks in the heat and still produce a viable chick.

 

[LoveHuevos]

That makes sense.

I need to make it a habit to pick them every day after lunch.

 

[Wyandottes7]

I'd eat them, absolutely. Where are the bacteria going to come from? The egg is a closed system.

I'm sure my coop gets over a hundred degrees during the day. I try to gather eggs every day, but sometimes it's two days. I've also had eggs under a broody hen (added by another hen after the broody started setting) that have been under her 2 days and I've eaten them. Never had rotten or otherwise undesirable eggs.

Eggs are actually designed to set out warm while the hen builds a clutch for brooding. Spring and summer are when hens tend to go broody, so eggs are made to set out up to 2 weeks in the heat and still produce a viable chick.

I don't mean to disagree with you, but an egg is not a closed system. It has pores through which bacteria can enter. I respect your opinion, but I believe it to be wrong.

 

[LoveHuevos]

Bumping for more opinions.

 

[iheartnh]

Eggs are porous, and those pores expand when heated, so bacteria can absolutely be introduced to an egg via the shell. That said, the bloom should protect them, but I'd still be wiggy about eating them unless I could find some non-anecdotal evidence that they're fine to consume.

 

[LoveHuevos]

Should I try one out and see what happens? I have about half a dozen of them in the fridge.

 

[iheartnh]

Awwww...you would do that for me? So sweet.