Egg Membrane

[Ahava]

Hi, All.

The good news is that all of our ladies are laying! (This is our first experience with chickens and we have been waiting for this moment for months!) Of course, even with just 6 laying pullets, that's a LOT of eggs. Even our Polish (that is only supposed to lay 2 - 3 eggs per week) lays every day. We give a lot of the eggs away, and we eat a lot of them too. We keep several boiled eggs on hand since eggs are such ideal foods.

The problem is that they are difficult to shell. While the shells are very hard and sturdy, the membrane doesn't pick up with the shell, which makes the shelling take a long time (because I have to peel the membrane off the egg after shelling it). The egg itself tends to tear when peeling it, and although that's not a huge problem, I would like to spend less than 5 minutes trying to peel one egg. Does anyone know what causes the membrane to do this? Are we feeding too much oyster shell perhaps?

 

[peepmommy]

fresh eggs are harder to shell than store bought eggs due to age! I always use eggs that are a couple of weeks old. Boil them, put them in an ice bath after cooking, cool completely. Then try peeling. It will be easier. Also put some salt in the boiling water... Good luck.

 

[CorinneP]

I Agree With Peepmommy .. Put a Dozen aside for a week let them be a little less fresh .. I also peel all my eggs under a steady not raging flow of cool water helps them slide off ..

 

[chic_a_lay]

what they said is true.....use the older eggs, salt (lots of salt, like when making spagetti) and boil the water first, then...the key is to poke a small hole in the big end of the shell as you drop them in the rolling boiling water. cover the pot, boil 11 minutes (set a timer!). drain, immediately give them an ice bath and they must cool in it completely. crack on the big end and then rub the egg between your palms and then run the stream of water over them, the shell will slip off.

 

[I Heart Chicks]

I have perfected the method of peeling hard boiled eggs! The secret is to peel them under coll running water while still warm, then put them in ice water to chill. Crack and roll the eggs before putting them under water to peel. Works every time for me. It takes only a few seconds to peel one. Let me know if this works for you too!

Also, taking a pin to the large and of the egg will eliminate that sulfur smell some eggs give off (mostly store bought eggs give sulfur smell, free range, not usually) It will also make it so the eggs give you no gas if eggs tend to do so ; )

 

[Ahava]

Ohhhh, wow. Ok, thanks everyone!

 

[cravenchx]

I also use a backwards spoon to slide up under the shell