Egg Whites of Boiled Eggs Not Smooth?

[IndianaHomestea]

For several months now, when boiled, part of the egg whites from one of our hens eggs comes off when removing the shell, resulting in an egg with big craters from all of the white that is missing.

I'm assuming this has something to do with her diet. She's a mixed breed (I think... I bought her full grown) and we feed her standard layer crumbles from tractor supply.

Is it a calcium deficiency?

 

[ChickensRDinos]

Nothing is wrong. Fresh eggs are super hard to peel. I personally save a cartoon of eggs out from the rest and let them sit awhile and only boil the oldest ones. It helps.

Here is another thread about it with some other tips:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/719527/impossible-to-peel-eggs

 

[mickey328]

The fresher the egg, the stickier the shell Generally, eggs that are 2 weeks or older will peel more cleanly. Lots of folks swear by baking their eggs rather than boiling them. I haven't tried it yet, but plan to the next time I have to do up a batch. I'm sure others will chime in with their tips and tricks, too.

Along with their feed, you should make grit and either oyster shell or ground eggshells available to them; they're really good at sensing what their bodies need. We have a small container of each in their run and just keep them topped off.

HTH
Mickey

 

[IndianaHomestea]

oops I should have searched first I usually do, but I couldn't think of the right search terms.

Anyway, thanks for the info, greatly appreciated as usual!

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Also it helps to put some ice cubes or very cold water in with the eggs immediately after boiling. Chilling them helps but IDK why.