Eggs hidden under the hedge

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SarahS
Hello everyone, not been on this forum for a while.

My bonkers hens have been laying under the hedge and I've just discovered a lovely clutch of 13 eggs. I've wiped them off and tested them for freshness in a bowl of water. I cracked one open to double check and the yolk and white smelled of fresh damp earth but otherwise okay. I really don't want to waste them but is there any problem with eating them that I haven't thought of?

Lovely hens, they make me smile every single day.

Mo
Obviously none of us could think of any snags.
Did you eat them?

SarahS
Indeed, the lack of replies was an answer in itself. We are eating the brown eggs though I'll admit I'm not so keen to start on the white eggs. They are stained lovely brown and green from the undergrowth which is quite off-putting.

Lovely things, they have spent most of the day following husband round the garden as he had The Spade which obviously means Lots of Worms in chicken brains. It is a wonder he didn't decapitate them as they dived into the holes he was digging. And a wonder that they haven't popped the shovelfuls of worms they've each had.

Dix
Hi Sarah
a good way to check the freshness of an egg you have already cracked open is to look at the size of the air sack. If it is very big the egg is a few weeks old and best used for baking.

Richard
Thanks for that.

I must admit to finding similar and have thrown them away. But I did know (by working out days they were around the garden) that most of the eggs would be more than 3 weeks old.

I believe if you don't wash eggs, they will stay good for a long time, but have never seen specific times put to it?

Cheers, Richard