I have eggs! And questions???

[Its Just Us Chickens]

Hi,

I have no experience with this so y'all help me out. I got my birds in Nov, but the were in molt at the time. I have 1 rooster, 2 RIR hens and a barred rock hen.
I've been suspecting for a couple weeks now that they were laying because I kept hearing them cackling and carrying on, but never could find the eggs.
This morning DD went out to the shed and found where they had built a nest in the closet of the shed and there were 19 eggs. I'm assuming it would take about a week for them to lay that many eggs.
What do I do with them? Leave them in their nest since they've been there that long, or is it OK to eat them? And what do I have to do to the eggs before I eat them? Is washing them in warm water enough?

 

[ghulst]

Take them and wash which I prefer. They should keep laying there but I would keep one egg as a dummy to make sure. Mark it so as not to remove. have fun.

 

[Wifezilla]

is it OK to eat them?

Just do the float test. Put the eggs in a big bowl of water. If they sink, they are still fresh. If they stand on end, they are still ok to use. If they float, toss them.​

 

[jvls1942]

they picked the spot so they most likely will not move .. take all the eggs out and wash them..
then do the float test. in a bowl put plain clean water at least 3 inches deep.. enough to cover an egg standing on end, plus a little more.. one by one gently put the egg into the water.. If the egg lays on bottom it is good. If it attempts to float, but does not stand up on end, it is a little older, but still good. If it actually leaves the bottom.. cook it and feed it to your dog, pig, chickens etc..

mark an egg and leave it in the nest.. do ot do like the other person said and leave it in there.. mark a new one each time you collect eggs and remove the one from the day before.. this way you can still use all your eggs and the one marked will never rot and explode..

better yet, find a fake egg or use a golf ball..

 

[Its Just Us Chickens]

Thanks!

4 eggs were cracked pretty badly so we're going to put those in with the scraps we give the cats and dog. One sort of stood on end and the rest sank. So we're all good.

I have a golf ball I can put in there. But their eggs are big and brown, will a small white golf ball fool them?

 

[jvls1942]

If they are laying there regularly, you really do not have to fool them.

you probably could just collect all the eggs and leave nothng there.

the decoy is just sort of insurance.
You do not really want to go looking for another nest if they decide to move..

the golf ball should work even if it is white..

 

[Pinky]

A white golf ball should should work.I have some brown leghorns and use yellow,blue,and purple plastic easter eggs.They still lay their eggs in the nest.

 

[CovenantCreek]

Now that you've found the nest, there is a chance they won't use it again or will stop soon and find somewhere else. My girls have never stuck with a nest after it was discovered, at least not for very long. So far, they've had 3 or 4 nests around the property. Most only found by following a hen who was wandering off by herself.

 

[Kim_NC]

Quote:
A golf ball will do just fine. I use them....LOL...and plastic Easter eggs of all colors. The gals are quite happy to lay beside them.