How to determine the age of an egg

Egg float testWhen our
pullets started laying
,
they eschewed the nest box and made their own nest in the straw at the
back of the coop.  I didn’t notice until I was refreshing the
deep
bedding
and nearly
stepped on an egg on the ground.  Since I didn’t know how long the
egg had been present, I needed to test it before deciding if it was
safe to eat.




Luckily for those of us
with ornery layers, it’s very easy to run an egg test.  Simply
fill a cup up with water and gently lower your egg in.  If the egg
sits completely flat on the bottom like the one in the photo, it’s
newly laid and quite safe.  Over time, an air pocket will form and
enlarge in the egg, so slightly older eggs will start to sit a little
crooked, with the blunt end angled toward the surface.  That egg
is okay for baked goods and hard-boiling.  But if the egg floats,
very carefully take it outside and dispose of it before it explodes
into a foul-smelling mess in your kitchen!




Since our pullets aren’t
laying up to their full potential yet, we’ve been buying grocery store
eggs as a supplement to our dog’s feed.  I was curious to see how
“fresh” supermarket eggs did on the float test, so I lowered one into
my mug.  According to the float test, supermarket eggs are good
for baked goods only, which is just about all I’d use them for (and
that in a pinch.)  I sure am glad we’re back up to three homegrown
eggs a day!



Our chicken waterer provides clean drinking
water, which means more eggs.

Latest Comments

  1. Jen g December 13, 2011
  2. anna December 15, 2011

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