How to determine the age of an egg

When 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!