How long can you leave eggs in the nest.

[salni9]

We are new to chickens and I was wondering how often we need to get them from the nest. There have been times when were not here for a few days then came home to 7 or 8 eggs. Do we need to discard them or are they still ok to eat. I have used the floating test and the eggs don't float or smell bad.

 

[catterbug]

The eggs are still good. Eggs really don't need to be refrigerated (the US is the only country that does). The reason for collecting often is so that the eggs don't get broken by the chickens because if they realize they can eat the insides, then they will always try to break them.

 

[gryeyes]

What catterbug said. As long as you don't have a broody hen setting on 'em for those "few days" there won't be any development even in fertilized eggs, and they'll be just fine to gather and eat.

 

[salni9]

How long can we expect to enjoy our chickens?