Expert: Roger Lederer - 7/23/2007

Question
QUESTION: Living in Mesa Arizona-A peacock roamed in to the back yard and decided to stay.About 10 days ago she made a nest and laid eggs. There dosent seem to be a male around so I am not sure if the eggs are fertilized or not but the peacock can fly and comes and goes. How could I tell? If they are not,are these eggs edible and how many days after hatching are they still good to eat?

ANSWER: How can you tell if the eggs are fertilized? You can't, really, unless you are an expert. If they are not fertile and the female has been sitting on them for more than a day, I wouldn't eat them. How many days after hatching are they good to eat? After hatching they are no longer eggs.

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QUESTION: I meant how many days after they are laid.Do peaple eat them? How long should we let her sit on them before the eggs are discarded? she is sitting on them all the time?

Answer
If they are fertilized, they will be no good to eat after a day or two. If they are infertile and she has been sitting on them, they will probably be awful to eat, if not downright unhealthy. I'm not aware of anyone eating peacock eggs and I don't recommend it.