Good Egg/Bad Egg ...Can I eat that?

​Many different things can happen to an egg as it is laid, causing many to wonder if the egg is still good to eat. Here is my guide to set your mind at rest.

GOOD EGG TO EAT

• Blood spot/Meat spot (can be removed but will cook just fine)
• Calcium deposits on the outside shell
• Odd shaped eggs (corrugated or unusually big)
• Multiple yolked egg
• Cracked during collection but able to be used in the next meal or recipe
• Fertilised (early stage) – bullseye visible in yolk
• Golden whites (great vitamin value)
• WATER TEST – egg sinks

 
BAD EGG – DO NOT EAT

• Cracked egg found in nesting box
• Heavily soiled egg in manure beneath the roosting rails
• Mottled yolk – hot weather or bacterial growth
• An advanced fertilised egg (embryo)
• WATER TEST – egg floats (rotten egg gas building)

 
BORDERLINE

• Wind egg/Fart egg (usually yolk-less) – usually small egg
• Shell-less eggs

Shell-less eggs can be tricky to break open. Often the yolk will get pierced and run through the white. However, I always advise that you open it in to a small bowl to inspect first to ensure that the yolk is not mottled. Discard if mottled. Otherwise, use if it appears well.