If you want to you can try the float test. The older an egg gets the more moisture it loses and the bigger the air cell gets. A fresh egg will lay flat on the bottom of a bucket of water, won’t float at all. An older egg will have lost enough moisture that it will stand on end on the bottom with the air cell side up. An even older egg will float. This doesn’t really tell you if the egg has bacteria inside or not, but the older ones are more suspicious.
It gets better. If an egg has active bacteria in it, the bacteria eat the egg material and produce gas. That can cause some eggs to actually leak a foul liquid. There is no doubt about those. But even if they don’t leak, the gas makes them more likely to float. So while an egg that floats is most likely to just be an old egg, if it floats it is even more suspicious. Handle with caution.
There are quite a few threads on this forum where people find a nest like that and want to know if the eggs are any good. Your experience is not unusual at all.
It gets better. If an egg has active bacteria in it, the bacteria eat the egg material and produce gas. That can cause some eggs to actually leak a foul liquid. There is no doubt about those. But even if they don’t leak, the gas makes them more likely to float. So while an egg that floats is most likely to just be an old egg, if it floats it is even more suspicious. Handle with caution.
There are quite a few threads on this forum where people find a nest like that and want to know if the eggs are any good. Your experience is not unusual at all.
