How to tell if an egg is old?

[lescostes]

OK - I feel like a really bad Mom. I have 2 naked necks and one has been laying since late December but then she stopped. Figured it was due to the weather, but everyone else in my area has eggs. Then I thought maybe because she was "free range" she was laying them outside so today I decided to go and find her and see if she might be laying someplace else. I went into the coop and my other hen and rooster were in there but not Rhoda. Then I heard a noise and I started looking around. Their coop is an old shed and part of it still has stuff in there (our pool chairs etc...) and lo and behold behind the pool chairs in the corner on the other side of the coop was Rhoda and she was laying an egg...then she moved and OMG there were tons of eggs. 20! I can't believe she has been laying and I didn't even realize it. Here is a picture of the eggs I found. I put some woodshavings back there and made her a comfy spot. Now the question is - are all these eggs good to eat? How do I know if they are good or bad?

 

[edladd]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=125935

Third post here has a description of how to test the eggs. I think I saw a faq somewhere with pictures, but can't find it now. Great that you found her stash - it's amazing that she didn't go broody with the big pile of eggs sitting there!

 

[lescostes]

Ah - thank you so much. Did the test and ALL of them sat on the bottom...so they are all fresh. That's my girl.

What does "going broody" mean (sorry I'm a new chicken owner)

 

[Buster]

Glad they were still ok. Going broody means the hen wants to sit on the eggs and incubate them so she can hatch them. She generally will sit on the egg and not get off except for brief periods.