eggs not quite right

[dairygoathaven]

Help! I'm new to the egg business. My chickens have been laying for about 2 months. The eggs are great fried or scrambled or used in recipes. However, when I try to boil them there seems to be a problem. After being boiled and I go to peel them the whites seem to just peel away almost like the white gets runny. After the first time this happened I started giving the chickens oyster shells. But the problem still exists. There is no problem with the taste or any other way I use the eggs. I feed layers mash, oyster shells, cracked corn, table scraps, and grain that my goats or pigs waste, along with plenty of pasture. Can someone help?

 

[Ms.FuzzyButts]

How long are you boiling them? Are the whites runny, or are they just peeling away with the shell?

 

[NoseyChickens]

Put a good amount of salt in the water and add room temp eggs to already boiling water for 15 minutes. Works like a charm.

 

[maizey]

if they are peeling away with the shell, its because they are so fresh. Oddly enough, older eggs are better for boiling..they don't stick to the shell. Its almost impossible to peel a boiled fresh egg.

 

[sharol]

How are you boiling them. If you cook a store egg at the same time as one of your eggs is there a problem with the store egg or just with the one your hens are laying?

NO FIRST HAND KNOWLEDGE here, but I think the age of the egg affects the way it cooks for hardboiled eggs. On the rare occasion that I boil eggs, I cover them in cold water and bring them to a slow boil. Then I remove the pan from the heat and leave the eggs in the covered pan for 12 minutes (small) or 18 min. for jumbo eggs. I remove them from the pan and put them in VERY cold/iced water. When they are cold, I peel them under running water. Sometimes they are perfect, sometimes some of the white sticks to the shell. I got this from some website or other, but it seems to work.

I would break down and buy a dozen eggs and try it on one of the store eggs at the same time as doing my own eggs. Of course about the same size egg. Then you can tell if it is the eggs or the method. I wouldn't think it is a calcium issue since the shells themselves seem strong.

Sharol

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[elizabethbinary]

That's because they're too fresh.

Boiled eggs are best at 4-5 days old.

 

[buckabucka]

I agree with maizey. I find this is a symptom of very fresh eggs. If I'm going to hard boil mine, I "age" them for at least a couple of weeks. We wanted to prepare some showy Chinese tea-stained eggs for a party, and we stored the eggs for a month in the refrigerator first. It worked perfectly.

 

[greenriver]

I love pickled eggs so I would leave eggs in the fridge for a week or two before boiling. Put them into cold water and slowly bring eggs and water to temperature together. Stir often to keep yolk in the middle.

 

[gvntofly05]

Quote:
This is the perfect way to boil fresh eggs! It works for me every time. Even with eggs that were laid the same day as boiling!

 

[Amyh]

I've never tried the salt, but if you add a tablespoon of oil to the water, it will help too. Egg shells are porous and the oil will go through the shell and help with peeling.