How long are eggs edible?

[alarkie]

Hi everyone! Our chickens just started laying about two weeks early. We found 10 yesterday and 1 today, and it's been in between 80-90 degrees all week. The problem is that we're not sure how long the eggs we found yesterday were in the nest, but we guess that it happened within 24 hours up until we found them at 9pm last night.

My question is will eggs spoil if left in the heat for too long, and do you have to refrigerate eggs at all? My dad has concerns and thinks that the heat has ruined the eggs completely, and even though two of them are little small and speckled (we have brown egg layers) my mom and I aren't that concerned. Also our coop stays around 85 degrees right now, and a little cooler at night, but basically it's prime weather for them to be laying.

So anyway any information about how long eggs keep fresh and the proper way to care for the eggs after collection would be great. Oh and our chickens are specifically for egg laying so I don't need any hatching advice. I don't want to confuse anyone.

Alright, well, that's about it. Thank you all in advance.

 

[onedozenphyllises]

How many chickens do you have? If you found 10 eggs but you only have a few chickens of laying age, then those eggs would be well over 24 hours old. They only really lay one egg per day at most, and when they first start, it may be one every few days, so those eggs may have been around awhile. You could put them in water to see if they float or sink (floaters are spoiled) or just toss them if you're not sure.

 

[starforever61]

There is an extremely accurate test to do when the you're not sure if the eggs are good or not. Put an egg in a cup of water. If it floats at the top, it's perfectly good to eat. If it is towards the middle, it's ok but not the freshest of the fresh. If it sinks to the bottom, it's a rotten egg. Hope this helps!

 

[onedozenphyllises]

No no! Floaters are rotten! Too much air has permeated the shell. Also, if they don't quite float but sort of stand upright, those are "iffy".

 

[Kezzie]

Quote:
Other way around!

 

[Judy]

Well, even if you gt it backwards, you'll know when you crack it....

 

[unaspenser]

I have a friend who keeps her eggs at room temp and claims they last that way for several weeks. I would bet the eggs would be fine at that temp for at least a few days. I mean, after all... if the girls sat on them they'd be a lot warmer than 85, right?

 

[onedozenphyllises]

We keep ours on the counter for several days at room temp, but our room temp is quite a bit lower than 85! Also, I wouldn't want to eat an egg that a hen had been sitting on - if it's warm enough to incubate, it's warm enough to spoil!

Go with the float test.

 

[ellieroo]

If I remember right Mother Earth did a test and found eggs sitting on the counter were still good after 3months.Which is a comfort as my bantys often play find them if you can.We float just before eating so far so good.However the neighbor found an old nest with his lawnmower it reeked for quite sometime!

 

[phalenbeck]

I have seen/bought eggs in areas of MX and Belize that were not refrigerated, and if seems that the locals do not see the need. Some have been part-cooked if in the sun. Of course most stuff is closer to the farm and farther than corperation than here. The part-cooked in the shell were fine. --------