Not sure what to do...

[Aisha3789]

I have a young hen that is laying about one egg every 1 1/2 days. She laid the first egg outside the nestbox... I put it inside. The next day when she wanted to lay the second egg she pushed the first one out of the box and I replaced it several times and she would push it right back out. So I left it out and she laid the second one in the nestbox...then when she got up I slipped the first one back in there. Now I am waiting all day for the 3rd egg but she didn' lay it yet and it' 8pm. She has not even looked in the nest box all day. Should I leave those eggs there? I don't have access to fake eggs to change them with. How long can I leave them? I also wrote the date on all these eggs so I know which order they came in. I was thinking to wait ten days from the date they were laid before discarding them. Are they still good to eat after 10 days or are they trash?

 

[aart]

I would not leave real egg in the nest, collect them daily or they may end up a broken mess.
You can use golf balls as fake eggs, or she may not even need them.
New layers are goofy, give her time to figure things out.

ETA: Eggs can be fine for weeks if kept at a cool temp on the counter or longer in the fridge. Many opinions, threads, and techniques on that, do some searching.

 

[Ljc01]

I would pull the eggs out of the nest before she steps on one a breaks it. You can find cheap leftover plastic Easter eggs this time of year.