Myth: Bad eggs will float / good eggs will sink

[nick-53]

The business of floating eggs is a fascinating subject, shown by the fact that 5 years after the thread was started it continues. So I'm going to add to it.
I've had chickens for a number of years now, and presently have 6. 2 of them are marans, at least one of these lays the occasional good egg that float. Some of the don't just float, they bob high in the water like bouys. These eggs are no more than a few days old, and are perfectly edible. The shell is a slightly different texture and a slightly lighter shade than their normal eggs. You can feel that it's going to be a floater. The white is very thick and gloopy.

Discuss!!

 

[dfalchek]

Float test is a myth.

My eggs are rarely last more than two or three weeks in my house and I was concerned when so many seemed to float. After hearing lots of confusing misinformation -- I found this from the USDA to should put everyone at ease.


What does it mean when an egg floats in water?
An egg can float in water when its air cell has enlarged sufficiently to keep it buoyant. This means the egg is old, but it may be perfectly safe to use. Crack the egg into a bowl and examine it for an off-odor or unusual appearance before deciding to use or discard it. A spoiled egg will have an unpleasant odor when you break open the shell, either when raw or cooked.


http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal...ration/shell-eggs-from-farm-to-table/CT_Index


Bottom line: Your nose knows. Crack all eggs into a small bowl and examine and sniff before it goes into the mixer or pan.

 

[joellenAK]

I just filled a pot with eggs from my girls and 1 out of 30 floated. I noticed that it was the biggest egg and when I shook it, I could feel and hear the egg rattling back and forth a bit in the shell. I decided to crack it open and investigate. I didn't see or smell anything abnormal, but I did noticed that the whites spread out wide to fill the bowl. If I had wanted to fry it instead of boil it I'd never have questioned it's freshness. Could it just be that it came out of the chicken that way? I think I'll shake test eggs at the nest from now on just to see if it happens again. I sure have enjoyed my chickens this year and greatly appreciate this site. I have learned so much here. Thanks and Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

 

[drumstick diva]

I have always thrown out the floaters

My bad !!

 

[Birdgutbutt]

Funny how the urge to make yourself feel "right" aka feel better about yourself drove you to create an entire account on a chicken info. forum merely to share your wisdom with us "bird brains". This is why I like chickens better than some humans. Cluck Cluck.

 

[shwz]

so should we say that OLD eggs float ...fresh eggs sink ...and ANY egg regardless of age ...under the wrong conditions can be bad ?

Yes, I belive so. JSYK, refrigeration dries food not sealed in airtight packages, while freezing does not.

 

[Lilyput]

Thanks; clear and too the point. I have two and three year old chickens. Most have not laid over the winter/ and moulting. Just found 8 eggs out of the nesting box. A couple have started again. I boiled them up and fed them to the dogs as they were kind of dirty. My eggs from nesting box always clean. They all sunk before I boiled them so guess they were laid yesterday; just didn't notice them last night. Oh well, the dogs are happy!

 

[Billy Hill]

Hate to bring up old threads but this looks like the bet place to ask... I'm down to 2 girls now and only 1 seems to be laying (the leghorn). I float tested a few of her recent eggs (week old at most, unwashed) and they all bobbed with about 1/4" above the water. They're small eggs to begin with so this seems like a lot to me. The eggs taste fine and nobody has been sick so I'm not convinced they're bad.

Thoughts?

 

[Marion smith]

I googled "Cell phones" and they apparently are not made of cells either

Uh no! That's not what balut is. Balut is not aged and they are duck eggs. Its not anymore gross than you eating a fully grown chicken or and egg.

 

[GoodMorningtomy]

BTW in Germany there's a device designed to gently poke a tidy hole in the wide end of an egg, so that when it is boiled it won't crack. I don't have one so I just used a pin, and all 9 of my almost 80 day old eggs sank. A friend had previously told me that I was having trouble peeling eggs for deviled eggs because my eggs were too fresh. These peeled easily, but I think it was because the water got in through the pinhole; and presumably that is also why they sank. There was, indeed, evidence of an enlarged "air cell" in each -- full of water. The boiled eggs looked and smelled perfect except for the "deformity" caused by the larger than normal air cell. Complicating things, however, is that I cracked three raw eggs -- deliberately -- each into a small, clear glass dish. I fried one. Yoke nice and high. Yumm! Question though: two cracked eggs, the ones that had been nearest the freezing unit in the refrigerator where all were kept, where other things sometimes freeze unintentionally, had a light white "halo" around the yokes when first cracked. This could only be seen when the dishes were placed against a dark wood background and lit with a very bright light. After my supper, considering whether or not to use the two remaining eggs in baking brownies, I found that the "halos" had all but disappeared as the eggs warmed up to room temperature. Safe to use for baking or not?