How long can a fresh laid egg be unfrigerated and be safe to eat?

[5LadyHens]

Hello Chicken and Duck Lovers,

We've been waiting patiently for our young hens to start
laying eggs in their nesting beds in the coop for months.
A couple of weeks ago I even bought some wooden eggs
to put in their nests to encourage them to lay. Shortly
after that we were blessed with an egg!
Every day since I find 1 or 2 eggs in their nests...but we
wondered when we'd start seeing more eggs from
the 5 hens we have. Yesterday our sons found the
Mother Lode. The boys came into the kitchen with
18 eggs nestled inside their sweatshirts! Apparently
our hens found that inside our old Willy's Jeep was
a better place to lay eggs than inside their coop.
I was hoping someone could now settle a family debate
about these 18 eggs. Are they safe to eat? I say "No"
because we have no idea when they were laid. Both
our sons say "Yes"...that they need no refrigeration for
weeks on end. Now that sounds ridiculous to me!
Meanwhile I've marked these 18 new arrivals with a
black X on top to keep them separate from our fresh
laid eggs.
Thanks for your input. Lisa

 

[danielkbrantley]

Word on the street is if they're rotten they'll stink or if put in water, float. Otherwise, you should be golden.

 

[rungirl]

I really hate throwing out eggs.... that said, here's what we do. We don't refrigerate our eggs. We let them set out on the counter in a basket until we use them. It's based on the fact that they are not factory eggs being sold to a grocery store (which are a month old when you get them) and many other countries do not refrigerate. Your eggs stay much fresher since they are "sealed" by the hen when she lays them. That seal is the bloom and if it's washed off like they do for grocery stores, then it loses that seal and should be refrigerated.

Bottom line is that if you think those eggs are a few weeks old, (which is probable because even 1 egg a day laid by one hen would only take 2 1/2 weeks), then they are probably fine.

You could put them in water and if any float, discard them. Fresh eggs should sink. And if it still bothers you, break them into a bowl, and if they seem OK, use them in cooking.

Lisa

 

[KirstenJL]

I was wondering the same thing because I want to try to sell some hatching eggs. I have only one purebred pair, so it will take at least 12 days to get a dozen. If they don't sell, I would prefer eating them to throwing them away.

 

[stoopid]

They should be fine, but if you're a germophobe, why don't you just reward the girls and make a big pan of scrambled eggs, shells and all? That way, they won't go to waste, and they are getting a yummy, good for them treat. And you can see for yourself how they are inside....

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Just to ease your mind, put them in water and if they sink they are fine. If it were me, I would then refrigerate since the bloom will be, at least for the most part, washed off.

 

[mistari]

I don't refrigerate my eggs at all, I keep them in a basket on the kitchen counter. In fact, if you ever visit England one day you'll find that all the eggs in the grocery store are unrefrigerated and stacked in a normal aisle. When I asked my British aunt why the eggs weren't in the fridge she was perplexed as to why we put ours in the fridge. Just don't eat them if they smell rotten, in my experience that only happens if they get cracked or something and the germs are allowed into the egg.

 

[5LadyHens]

Oh my! What a bounty of good information ya'll have given us!
I've learned so much in your postings about our chickens and
their beautiful eggs.
I will definitely do the "egg float test" on the bumper crop of
18 and then ones that sink will then be refrigerated. And
from now on I know that I don't have to refrigerate our eggs
we gather each day as long as we don't wash their protective
membrane off beforehand.
What an awesome group of people you are! Thank you!

Lisa

 

[wsmoak]

One day I am going to get one of these to keep the eggs "in order" on the counter

http://www.egg-skelter.co.uk/

(For now I just write the date in pencil. But that's much less fun than an egg skelter.)

-Wendy

 

[the Pollo Loco]

If i'm not sure how old they are, I boil them and give them to the hens as a treat, beats throwing them away!!!