# Are the eggs ok to eat?



## Ngt (Dec 31, 2016)

Before i get into my story, I'd like to say I'm totally new to chickens and really don't know anything about them. These are my first 4 chickens ever. 

So, here goes. We raised them from 1 week and eventually got the coop built and got them outside. 2 of the 4 were laying. Then one day they started pooping blood. The guy at western farms said to give them antibiotics for a week and not eat the eggs for 3 weeks after that, but the day we started the antibiotics, the eggs immediately stopped. The 4 weeks ended Dec. 18th and still no more eggs from any of them. The guy at western farms said it had nothing to do with the antibiotics even though the eggs stopped immediately on day 1 of giving it to the chickens. He said it had to do with lack of daylight.

Then yesterday, out of nowhere, they started laying again. Now I'm thinking the daylight had nothing to do with it, as the Sun is still only out from 7 to 5 or so. 

Finally, my question  

Are these eggs safe to eat, or should we still give them the 3 weeks of laying time before eating eggs?

Also, any explanation on the eggs stopping the exact day of the antibiotics being started? Why did it take so long for them to start again? Anyone have an explanation for that whole situation?


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

It's going to be hard to try to guess at what all was going on with your flock.

The first thing all of us think of when seeing blood in the droppings is: 1. coccidiosis or 2. an overload of internal parasites.

Coccidiosis is a single celled organism that any warm blooded animal can develop and is treated with things like Corrid. 

An overload of internal parasites will destroy the GI tract.

This is where we need to know what drug you were giving them. I suspect it was one that deals with cocci, Sulmet is one that not many use but is effective.

They might have been molting as far as the stoppage of egg laying and that the timing is totally a coincidence. The guy at the feed store is correct, egg laying slows or completely stops during the shorter days of winter. 

And welcome to the forum. We are here to help. You're doing the right thing by going to those that know chickens which so many don't do. None of us was born knowing what we know about chickens in their care so we understand how sometimes the challenges they throw our way can be overwhelming.


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## Ngt (Dec 31, 2016)

Thanks for the welcome and the reply! It was an antibiotic for cocci. Do you think the eggs are safe to eat and the antibiotics have already passed? Or do we need to wait for 3 weeks of laying to eat the eggs?

Thanks again!


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

I don't think they've ever done a study to see how long it takes for drugs we use on them to be clear in the eggs. They only recently did a study to see if wormer residue ends up passed in to the egg which they found it does. That withdrawal period is based on some scientific guess work. 

I have messed up in the past and forgotten I had wormed my birds and ate the eggs. I'm still here to talk about it. The biggest issue they have with eating them before the clear date is if someone is allergic to whatever we gave the birds. So, to be safe it is recommended to cook up the eggs and feed them back to the birds. 

And keep that guy at the feed store. For a change they have someone working there that actually sounds like he knows what he's talking about when it comes to chickens. So many other places, TSC being one, the people have no clue.


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## Ngt (Dec 31, 2016)

Ok, thanks! We will hold off for the 3 week period now that they started laying again, just to make sure. 

Something i don't understand though, if you're trying to clear something out of them, and it's being passed in their eggs, why would you feed those eggs back to them. Isn't that just putting more of the stuff back into their system? 

Again, I'm new, so if that's a stupid question, sorry


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## seminole wind (Aug 22, 2015)

hi, welcome to the chicken world! looks like you did all the right things. you can wait 3 weeks , or just keep eating them like me. concerns would be allergies to the antibiotic, or in the future being resistant to that antibiotic yourself. however, chances of you being treated with that same antibiotic in the future are very slim. I personally don't give those eggs to others for 3 weeks, but eat them myself.

no question is stupid. we have all been beginners, LOL


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## robin416 (Sep 8, 2013)

For the first time I questioned that about the residue myself. What they found in the eggs tested for the wormer was a residue. At that point giving them back to the hens would make that minute residue almost non existent and the chances of it being passed in to the eggs at any detectable level would be negligible.


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## Ngt (Dec 31, 2016)

Ok, that makes sense. Thank you both very much for the replies and understanding  It is appreciated!!


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## dawg53 (Aug 25, 2015)

Welcome to the forum.
If you used corid, there is no withdrawal period since it's a thiamine blocker, it treats protozoal cocci. There are also bacterial type cocci and if you used sulmet, there is a 10 day withdrawal period after the last dosing. If you used sulfadimethoxine, there is a 5 day withdrawal period.
If a person is sensitive or allergic to sulfa drugs, it's possible a reaction could occur due to residue in eggs.


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