How to know if eggs are bad??

[crazychickenlover]

Hello everyone! This is my first post to this site but you all have helped me very much already!! I just found a nest in my yard of around 3 dozen eggs and was wondering how to know if any of them are bad?

 

[RedDrgn]

Well, what I learned about eggs growing up was that you could tell a good egg from a bad egg by whether or not they floated. If you put an egg in a bowl of water deep enough to submerge it and it floats, it's a stale/dehydrated egg. If it sinks and lays on the bottom, it's good.

Obviously, if there is any foul odor, evidence of moldering, shell cracks, or other damage/funk you should presume it's bad and pitch it.

 

[Clay Valley Farmer]

Hard to tell though if incubation had started. If in doubt crack each one into a bowl one at a time before using. Any funky appearance, smells or really watery eggs I would toss. These eggs might be best used for cooking or if you don't like the idea of eating them at least cook them up to be fed to pets or back to the chickens.

 

[crazychickenlover]

Some of the white ones are stained because of being in the wet grass...do you think the staining is a problem?

 

[RedDrgn]

Quote:
It's not the stains that would concern me so much as the water. If you know the eggs have been sitting out in wet conditions, I'd pitch them. Eggs aren't waterproof and if they were wet for prolonged periods or sitting in any water, there's a better chance of them being spoiled or otherwise contaminated with bacteria/viruses/fungus.

Now if you just found them in dewy grass first thing in the morning and you know they weren't there yesterday, then I wouldn't really worry.

 

[ki4got]

I would candle the eggs first to see if they're clear or started incubation...

either way, I would keep any clears. if they candle dark then either they're rotting or started incubation, in which case, if they're cold it's likely the chick inside is dead. if they are clear they may incubate just fine, or be edible if you choose to... like someone else mentioned tho, you can also do a float test to see how fresh they are (if you want to incubate i'd avoid that personally), or just look at the air cell when you candle. larger air cells mean the eggs have been sitting a while.

 

[shelby528]

Quote:
Best way to do it! Ive done it all my life lol

easiest way to tell rather than breaking them open!

 

[comptonsgonecountry]

Quote:
Best way to do it! Ive done it all my life lol

easiest way to tell rather than breaking them open!

I agree... this is the way I checked my eggs when the girls first started laying and I found a nest here and there.