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

[5LadyHens]

Wendy...I love the egg-skelter! I want to buy one of those too.

Hey Pollo Loco...I'm just up the coast from you in Stinson Beach.

Until I read a posting about feeding your chickens scrambled eggs,
I never knew they'd eat them or like them. Is it me or is that a bit
creepy? Cannibalism comes to mind....

But I will start cooking
suspicious eggs up for the girls for a treat anyway.

Lisa

 

[umanduhbree]

I have also wondered about this. Do you leave your eggs out if you have a roo? I thought you had to put them in the fridge to stave off the fertilization process.

 

[cosmicmama]

The same exact thing happened to me a couple of weeks ago. Had been waiting for my 5 hens to start laying. Had the feeling one day to go looking in the woods where they hang out during the day, peaked into my sons' makeshift "clubhouse" (a tarp draped over a frame of logs), and found a nest with 11 eggs in it! After much deliberation, we decided to eat them. They all sunk to the bottom when we put them in a cup of water, none had any funny smells. I smelled them each individually before and after I cracked them open, and they were all fine. We ate them with no ill effects. Based on the fact that I'm only getting 2-3 eggs a day now (2 weeks later), and my Ameracauna just started laying last week, I can assume that some of those eggs may have been up to a couple of weeks old.

 

[5LadyHens]

Quote:
That's a good question, umanduhbree! Though we don't have a rooster, I'd still like to know the answer.

Cosmicmama...I'm glad you were able to eat your hidden stash and suffer no ill effects. That's encouraging!

 

[Egg Rookie 2010]

I have a roo. I do not refrigerate my eggs. Sitting on the kitchen counter is not exactly warm and cozy like under a mama hens fluffiness. So if they are fertilized you wont know the difference. They look/taste no different than one that isnt. They arent going to incubate on the counter (or else no one would buy incubators right?) Also I write the name of the girl and date on each egg with a pencil as it is really good for my marketing. People love to know Matilda made their breakfast!

 

[Redberry]

I write the date in pencil on mine, that way you don't use the ones that are too fresh for hard boiled eggs, as you can't peel the little blighters!

 

[5LadyHens]

EggRookie2010...thanks for answering the questions about the fertilized eggs being okay to

sit at room temperature. The way you put it about the incubator...that does make sense.

Also thank you and Redberry for the tip about penciling the date and name of chicken on
each egg. I love that idea!

Lisa

 

[harebrainedschemes]

I had the same problem - found 18 eggs yesterday and diligently looked up how to tell if they were fresh or rotten.

They all sank to the bottom of the water and looked normal - just like the one that I found in the nest that I knew was just laid.

So, I went into my walk-in closet and candled all of them. I could see just a glimmer of yolk in the just-laid egg... Two others looked about the same but several were either not able to be viewed or really dark. I could see some of the yolks float this way and that way. I put them into order of what I thought was best to worst.

Finally, I just decided eggs are not that dear and I cracked them open. The majority of them were bad. The yolks were not in one lump; they were already scrambled but they didn't smell - they just looked horrid. They had a funny color and were really thin & watery looking. The last three looked and smelled o.k. so I fried them and fed them to the dogs.

The moral of my story? I think if you just don't know, don't risk it.

 

[Hopper]

i have done some traveling and I think we are one of the few countries that DOES refrigerate and yes its cause our eggs come from an egg factory and their quailty people make them WASH them.

IF I EVER GET EGGS From these hens I dont think I will be washing either, they can happily sit on my counter for all to see and admire! CANT WAIT!

 

[mom x 1]

It's true, you learn something new every day. I have been diligently placing my eggs in the fridge, even though I have said several times how pretty they would look sitting in a basket on my counter! Guess where my eggs will be from now on!

Oh and I love the egg-skelter thingie!