Defective Egg Factory??

[Ms Rose]

I have a young (about 8 or 9 months old) Isabel Orpington that has issues with her eggs. She has been laying for about 2 months now and her eggs are much smaller than they should be and often I find they aren’t any good. She often has double yolks.

I’ve discovered that the blunt end quite often has a section of shell that isn’t as thick as the rest and am wondering if bacteria is getting in and causing them to go bad. I normally keep the fresh eggs on the counter but have started putting hers in the fridge after collecting.

She appears otherwise a healthy, happy girl. Always comes running to greet me with the rest of the girls and it doesn’t appear that’s she’s bullied. I feed a pellet or crumble food, occasion handful of black oil sunflower seeds for treats and sometimes left over fruit or veggie scraps and peelings, never moldy. Anyone have an idea what is happening with her eggs?

 

[aart]

often I find they aren’t any good

What does this mean?

It can take up to 6 months for a pullets eggs to get up to that birds 'normal' size.

 

[Ms Rose]

What does this mean?

It can take up to 6 months for a pullets eggs to get up to that birds 'normal' size.

But why would her eggs be rotten? That’s what I’m most concerned about.

I did read Orpingtons take longer to mature, but the size of her eggs has been consistently small for two months. On average I’d say she lays 4 a week.

 

[aart]

But why would her eggs be rotten?

Rotten?
Post pics of a raw rotten egg that she laid?

 

[NatJ]

But why would her eggs be rotten? That’s what I’m most concerned about.

Are they rotten when she first lays them?
Or do they start out fine, but get rotten faster than the eggs from your other hens?

 

[Ms Rose]

Rotten?
Post pics of a raw rotten egg that she laid?

Are they rotten when she first lays them?
Or do they start out fine, but get rotten faster than the eggs from your other hens?

I’m thinking they just get rotten faster than the others.

This egg smelled bad and tasted bad. the colour was off so I cut it in half and saw the yolk looked different. I took a little nibble and it was bad. I leave fresh unwashed eggs on the counter for probably two weeks by the time they are used. This egg would not have been on the counter longer than that.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Have you tested if the eggs are always bad by cooking them "fresh" vs refrigerated for 2 weeks?

If the shell is thin/cracking at one end, then maybe bacteria is getting in and spoiling the egg, so it might be ok eaten immediately. If they still look/smell/taste off even when super fresh, then I wouldn't risk eating any of her eggs at this point. Maybe if the eggshell quality improves you can test them again later on.

 

[aart]

I’m thinking they just get rotten faster than the others.

This egg smelled bad and tasted bad. the colour was off so I cut it in half and saw the yolk looked different. I took a little nibble and it was bad. I leave fresh unwashed eggs on the counter for probably two weeks by the time they are used. This egg would not have been on the counter longer than that.

Is it just one bird, that you can ID her eggs easily?
I still want to see one broken open raw in white dish.

 

[Ms Rose]

It was just the one hen. She is the youngest of 5 hens and the last to start laying. Her eggs were consistently small and lighter in colour than the others. They were the same for at least 2 months. There was a blemish of sorts at the round end. I wondered if the shell was thinner there so possibly bacteria was getting in. We had a drop in temperature and egg production has slowed right down. I haven’t found any of the small eggs for at least a month. I’m not sure that she’s laying at the moment so can’t crack a fresh one to test it out.