Ok, here's the 'rookie' again with a couple of stupid questions!
Yesterday afternoon I discovered Road Runner (the Pit Hen) sitting eggs in the bushes by the front porch. I assumed she hadn't been sitting them long, as I have seen her out & about a few days ago. Normally, if she is sitting eggs, she will disappear for days & days. We usually can't find her clutch since she is totally free range. ANYWAY, my husband insisted on taking her eggs. There were 11 in all. I told him you can't know for sure how long those have been there. Although, we did break one and it was a perfect little brown egg inside and out! My husband insists Road Runner could lay 11 eggs in 2 days. I told him I don't think hens can lay that many eggs in so short a time. I felt sorry for her & wanted to leave a few for her to sit even though they will never hatch - no rooster. He said she will be healthier if she does not sit eggs that won't hatch.
So-
1. How many eggs can a hen lay a day?
2. How do you know if they are fresh enough for eating?
3. Should obviously non-fertilized eggs be taken from a hen to keep her 'healthy'?
How do you know if eggs are good?
Chickens can only lay one egg in a 26 hour period. You can put the eggs in water. The ones that float are no good. If your hen is broody there is not too much you can do about it. We have one hen that will try to hatch a rock when she is broody. They do not normally lay any eggs while they are in the hatching mode. It is a hormone thing :)
Linda
mommagoose, thanks for the info. Beats breaking open a rotten egg into the skillet at breakfast time!
We've been wondering where all our eggs were, and we found 28, eggs under the coop! Oi vey! We tossed them all. I've been using some as examples of where i WANT them to lay, but I couldn't eat them. too many ?s. oh well. They'll make more :)
Backyard, I'm with you; too risky to try eggs that you aren't possitve are fresh. Runner is still sitting the same place where we removed the 11 eggs. My hubby checked last night but no new eggs. Do you think I should put 1 or 2 back under her?
Margie