Black egg yolks...

[khind]

I am curious if you ever figured out the black yolk thing. I got one yesterday while all the rest were fine. No smell - I don't think. I unfortunately cracked it in with about a dozen others (my bad) and quickly through the whole pan out. So gross! Now I'm worried about eggs I've given to others. Course I haven't had any other issues. ?[/QUO
I would also like to know if either you or the original poster discovered a cause because I've had this issue with a few eggs - which, if memory serves, were laid by more than 1 hen - in the past couple months. ☹

 

[groovytune]

@Farmer Connie - they've all been disposed of. Quickly.

If I come across more, I will take a picture for you.

 

[groovytune]

I've got two eggs now that just came up with black yolks. I think I know which chicken as well, maybe. But did you ever figure out why?

 

[aart]

@groovytune open them up further(on a plate)?
Do they stink....if so, like what?

 

[Xerocles]

One way is to use some cheep lipsticks, in different colors to mark the vents of some chickens and see if the egg is smeared with it,

The problem addressed in this thread is not funny. For that matter the suggestion made by Akrnaf2 is likewise not funny. But I'm sorry. I visualized myself out with multi colored lipsticks painting my chicken's butts. To compound this visual I then envisioned my SO walking upon me while I was doing it. I'm a guy by the way. Like I said, not a funny thread, but this just got to me. I was laughing so hard I started pounding my head on the kitchen table. My SO asked what was going on. I showed her the post and walked away. She followed me just shaking her head. She said " you're sick."

 

[groovytune]

@groovytune open them up further(on a plate)?
Do they stink....if so, like what?

They do stink something fierce, like a sulfur smell. I don't dare rip the bag open.

 

[rosemarythyme]

The problem addressed in this thread is not funny. For that matter the suggestion made by Akrnaf2 is likewise not funny. But I'm sorry. I visualized myself out with multi colored lipsticks painting my chicken's butts.

It's actually not a joke - the idea is to figure out which hen(s) laid the problem eggs. By coloring the vent area (in this case they used lipstick, food dye would also be an idea) when the egg passes through, it will get smeared with the color. Match the smear color with the vent color and you can ID the problem bird for treatment or culling.

 

[Grenadianexpat]

The problem addressed in this thread is not funny. For that matter the suggestion made by Akrnaf2 is likewise not funny. But I'm sorry. I visualized myself out with multi colored lipsticks painting my chicken's butts. To compound this visual I then envisioned my SO walking upon me while I was doing it. I'm a guy by the way. Like I said, not a funny thread, but this just got to me. I was laughing so hard I started pounding my head on the kitchen table. My SO asked what was going on. I showed her the post and walked away. She followed me just shaking her head. She said " you're sick."

One of the last posters in this thread at this time devised a whole long winded plan taking several days, and creating several enclosures. Now while this recommendation to use lipstick is off the wall, it was by a serious contributor, and the logic to it seems sound. Up to this point I haven't felt the need to investigate chickens vents for any purpose other than looking for parasites, but if I had a recurring problem with eggs spoiling it might be worth a try. to establish whether the problem is with the bird, or an event that happened to the egg post laying.

 

[Grenadianexpat]

They do stink something fierce, like a sulfur smell. I don't dare rip the bag open.

They look like eggs that have partly developed, and then just stop when something is wrong with the incubation. Usually if you shake the eggs from side to side (gently) at this point they slosh around inside. Also usually they stink through the unbroken shell.

 

[Grenadianexpat]

What causes an egg to go bad (black egg yolk) when the other eggs collected at the same time are fine. Stored the same way.

Chicken (or two) might have girl parts sick?

****

The eggs are about a month old, kept on the counter, never washed. Never been an issue. Can usually keep eggs for several months on the counter without a problem. Pretty good about collecting eggs a few times an hour. (During the great snake event, it was more like every 5-10 minutes.)

The eggs are all from the same flock. Couldn't tell you who(m) is laying the rotten eggs, but man, it's icky!!! Stinky icky!!! Age of girls is unknown. Some give off the energy of being ancient while others act middle aged.

The overall flock is several years old. Production has dropped from about 93% production to 28-34% (a molt n progress.)

Do eggs going badly quickly indicate a health issue for the chicken?

If so, what is it and what do I look for? (None of the girls appears to have any issues but that is just looking at the standard stuffs.)

I understand that culturally America has a different approach to egg handling, but there is no way I am going to have a product that came out of a chickens vent which has a duel purpose, unwashed for weeks or months on end. I would much rather wash them, and refrigerate, which then halts eggs development if they have been fertilised.
I live in a tropical country, so even without a hen sitting eggs will stay viable to hatch for quite a while, also they can spoil quite quickly if they have a mind to.

Maybe I missed it, but I wonder if there was ever a solution to the problem found as this thread has age. Personally with an egg that is a month old, and not refrigerated I would assume a porosity to the egg that has allowed it to go off.