What about the eggs??

[tigerbarbd]

Good afternoon....We have only been raising chickens for about 7 months. We started with 6 Red Stars, lost one to a Hawk,but the five we have give us an average of 32 eggs a week. Well we like them around ,so we just got 26 more( chicks of 4 different breeds) so in a few months we have PLENTY of eggs. I do have a question: If one of our hens gets ill, will it effect the eggs she lays? In other words, if we don't catch it in time and someone eats her eggs, can they becoming ill from eating them? Thanks for your help....Don

 

[gritsar]

I've never heard of someone eating eggs from a sick hen getting sick themselves.

 

[Big dreams]

I am pretty sure the eggs you buy in town are not exactly coming from well chickens!

 

[Ridgerunner]

With all the inspection and testing required, I'm very sure the eggs you get from legal commercial operations are from healthy chickens. We may not like the way they are treated but they will be healthy. A sick hen will not be an efficient layer and they cannot afford to feed a layer that is not efficient anyway.

Whether eggs from sick chickens are unsafe to you, I imagine depends on the disease. If you have a specific disease in mind, you can ask about that disease on here or you can call your county extension office. They will be able to give you expert advice.

I'm no expert, but I tend to think that if the egg is cooked properly, it would be OK. You're probably more in danger from the drugs you are giving them to treat the disease than from the disease itself. But I'm no expert.

 

[nhnanna]