Hot in AZ but why?

[LinLovesHerChickens]

All of a sudden my eggs turned from brown to white. What happened is it fue to high temperatures?

 

[Peepsi]

Stress causes brown-egg layers to lay eggs slightly prematurely, before their reproductive system can put the brown bloom coating on. Your hens have heat stress, so they're laying their eggs slightly early, before the brown coating is applied. Cool them down with tubs of ice water placed in a shady part of their run, frozen fruit, or put a fan in their run. They just need a little help getting cool.

Edit: This current thread has ideas for cooling your hens down: https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/keeping-chickens-cool.1323066/

If cooling them down doesn't work, they may have other issues, such as an illness. but since you mentioned it's hot right now (and I know how hot parts of Arizona can get), I'd tackle the heat issue first.

 

[LinLovesHerChickens]

Thanks! I put a fan out there and cold bucket of water along with cold fruit. Can I still eat the eggs the shells are slightly thinner?

 

[Peepsi]

Sure, you can eat the eggs with thinner shells, as long as they aren't cracked or damaged. If they get cracked, I'd toss them, because a cracked egg could have harmful bacteria in it.

Another tip, if your egg shells are thin...have ground-up oyster shell or other calcium supplement available in the coop at all times, if you haven't already. Getting more calcium into your birds will help their egg shells get stronger. Some greens, like Kale, also have calcium in them. Most chickens enjoy Kale. You can feed yogurt once in a while, but not very much, as it causes diarrhea.

 

[LinLovesHerChickens]

Sadly, two more of my hens died. They did lay a premature egg just before. It may be stress from the heat as it’s been 107. I did put a fan, make ice cubes out of cupcake tins, etc. Not sure what else I could do.

 

[aart]

Not sure what else I could do.

Deep all day shade is best, and in AZ a misting system could help, but....

I give a dose of Sav-a-Chick electrolytes/vitamins about once a week during heat waves. It really seems to help....started this after they saved a heat stroked hen once.
Can mix up a smaller amount, just wrap the packet tight and store in a dry cool place.
Always have plain water available too.

BIG(9x14x2") chunks of ice last all day for wading, sitting, and sipping.
Much more useful to the chickens than frozen foods and treats.

Make space in your freezer!