I think I should be proud

[KristyHall]

I have this silly one year old hen that keeps going broody then stopping after a day or two, ruining a batch of eggs each time. So whens he does I break up the eggs for the other hens to eat.

Well, I have a hard time with the eggs sometimes. Today I tried dropping the eggs on the ground, no avail. I tried throwing them. I tried stepping on them and only succeeded in stomping them INTO the ground.

I finally grabbed a hammer and broke them open. Also during breakfast I found a couple of older eggs in a carton int eh back of the fridge I forgot about. After a float test I decided they were a little too old for my liking and dropped them into a dirty pan to toss out to the hens. And they landed into the metal pan and wouldn't crack. i picked them up and dropped them a couple of times before they broke open.

So I should be proud my hens lay such strong eggs right? The chicks don't have much problem hatching at least. But dang those shells are tough!

 

[Spookwriter]

Must be to much metal in your chickens diet...

We give ours marshmellows as a weekly treat.
Makes the eggs soft and fluffy...

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
are you being serious or are you joking? I can't tell.

Metal? what kind of metal?

I live in a limestone and mineral rich area. Is it possible they're picking up a lot of it in their foraging?

 

[Orchid]

He's totally joking.

Your chickens must have a great diet, though!

 

[trilyn]

Yeah, she's kidding. You cook the eggs first right? Otherwise you'll give them the taste of raw eggs and end up with a bunch of egg eaters on your hand. Then again, if they're so hard you have to break them open with a hammer....

Yep, they're obviously getting the limestone while they're foraging...lucky for you, you don't have to buy oystershell!

 

[DuckLady]

Quote:

 

[Spookwriter]

I'm sorry, Kristy.

Yes, I was only joking about the metal diet. Picturing the girls
eating nuts, bolts, washers.

But I would tend to say to much on the limestone. You shouldn't
need a hammer to break an egg with. Can you even begin to think
what would happen if you tried to hard boil your eggs? Chainsaw...

Have also no ideal on feeding chickens marshmellows to make the
eggs fluffy.

There must be a reason I'm not allowed to do chicken-advice?

And I will at times feed the girls eggs, they are scrambled. I don't want
the girls to know what's actually in their eggs every morning. That's my
eggs...

Don't even feed them the shells. Garden use...

 

[mississippifarmboy]

Quote:
now you tell me......

 

[KristyHall]

Quote:
I have to let the eggs sit over a week before i can hard boil the eggs, and my hands get sliced up every time I peel them unless I wear gloves. I hate hard boiling my girl's eggs. but I love egg salad and deviled eggs sooo much.

Yeah north Alabama is very rich in limestone, we have limestone caves, and sink holes are a hazard here because of the under ground streams constantly wearing away at the soft rock. I can't dig further than a foot without hitting limestone rocks. In fact we live near a county called "limestone County"

I don't need to add lime to my garden because we have plenty in the soil already. I had no clue limestone could cause an increase in shell thickness.

 

[Spookwriter]

Again, I may be wrong but I've always felt that too much of any one
mineral can effect the quality of the egg.

Seems I also read/heard somewhere that it normally takes 3 to 5 days
for a change in diet to become apparent in the taste of the egg. Again,
I could be wrong. If you listen to my wife, I often am...

I do know that if I plan on doing a hatch, I will cut out all oyster shells for
the week before gathering "hatching eggs" as to hopefully have thinner
shells. Prior to this, I have had chicks get stuck in the shells.

But diet is a measure issue...your free-range eggs from the limestone pits
and my free range from the Ohio Valley may taste completely different. I know
that there are a few large commercial egg producers in central Ohio, and because
we're into trucking, I also know that these eggs are shipped everywhere by the
trailer loads daily.


(40 to 42,000 pounds of eggs per load, 25-30 loads per day going south)