How to test age of eggs

[SuperPeacockman]

My uncle has an IB trio that has not sat on any eggs this year but there are 15 or 20 piled up around their pen. Could I do that thing where you put the eggs in water and the fresh ones sink and the bad ones float and then incubate the fresh ones? That is the only way I can think of to find out if they are good or not.

 

[zazouse]

Go for it,
i have done it with guinea and duck eggs with success

 

[trailchick]

I'm interested in what happens SuperPeacockman.
Please give us an update if any eggs are good or if any happen to hatch.

 

[SuperPeacockman]

It is the fresh ones that sink right?

 

[zazouse]

If the egg sinks to the bottom, it's fresh. If the egg sinks to the bottom, but stands on its point, it's still good but needs to be used soon. If the egg floats to the top, it needs to be discarded.
Since egg shells are porous, overtime the liquid in the egg evaporates and is replaced by outside air. This results in more buoyant

 

[deerman]

the air cell get larger as the egg gets older. reason old eggs float.....you can candle them for air cell size, or float test....yes those that don't set on the bottom are bad.

 

[SuperPeacockman]

Thanks Zaz and Deerman