We found a hidden "clutch" in a bush......are they safe to eat?

[mothersin2ition]

My daughter found a HUGE batch of eggs today- 22 in all. They are from different chickens, and there is no way any one hen has been setting on them (the bush is waaaaaay low to the ground, and I keep a head count during the day and haven't noticed any one hen missing for long periods of time- every hen gets locked in the coop at night also).
My question, how do we know if they're still edible? I thought I'd read somewhere that you can do a water test and if they sink, then they're safe to eat, but if they hover in the middle or float at the top then they're too old. Is this correct?
Can anyone verify this info?

Thanks in advance!!

 

[Kesta]

yes its true!

 

[Matt A NC]

Those that sink and lay sort of flat are very fresh.
Stand up on bottom are still quite fresh.
Bob up and down towards the middle are getting old.
Floaters are ready to be tossed.

Some will break the bobbers 1 at a time in to a container to check, but most just toss them to be safe.

Matt

 

[DouglasPeeps]

Yes, that is what I use to verify that eggs are fresh.

 

[mothersin2ition]

Thanks to everyone who replied

I can't believe it!!! Everyone of the eggs sank to the bottom!!!
How long do eggs stay fresh anyway? Im just racking my brain to try and figure out how long the girls have been hiding their treasures

And now onto the next problem- how to keep them from doing it!

LOL

 

[Mahonri]

When I was young I gathered enough eggs that if I found that many that I hadn't known about before I'd probably toss all of them.

 

[BantyHugger]

I'd crack them into cups before eating them. Just to be safe.

 

[lurky]

I always follow the saying: when in doubt throw it out ........Better to be safe

 

[Sunny Side Up]

It's up to you how much of a "chance" you want to take. Once I found a hidden nest of eggs like you did, and though I don't have any lack of eggs here they were so beautiful & clean that I didn't want to throw them out. These all seemed to have been laid by just one hen and the oldest could have been almost 3 weeks old. I did the float test and they all sank to the bottom and laid flat.

I refrigerated them to keep them from aging any more, and ate them all within the next week. I did crack them one by one into a separate bowl before adding them to the pan. Some had more fragile yolks, but they all smelled fine.

I am still alive.

If you don't want to risk using them for human consumption you could feed them to your pets or chickens. Sometimes I'll take extra eggs & put them shells & all in the blender, and cook them scrambled for the hens. The shells are a good source of calcium for them.

 

[LocoPollo]

Question - If a hen is saving up eggs to hatch, that can take several days, right? so by the time she accumulates enough, the first ones dont go bad?