Loose egg yokes

[Carmenmchone9]

Hello my name is Carmen and I’ve raised hens for a few hens right now I have 10; they are several varieties the oldest is 11 months old. I keep randomly getting loose yokes. The whites are clear not cloudy but still looser than normal. I feed them layer feed to supplement their free range diet I feed them twice a day. I add garlic to the water. Can anyone tell me what I need to do to keep my hens healthy.

 

[Chick-N-Fun]

Howdy! Welcome to our FUNomenal community!
Be sure to provide them with oyster shell continuously in a sepaRate container.
Best of luck and have FUN with your flock!

 

[True Patriot]

I'm not sure what you mean by loose yolks. Are the shells not hard or are the yolks not formed properly? Can you post pics of what you're talking about? Are the insides of the eggs more water than normal?

 

[Carmenmchone9]

Howdy! Welcome to our FUNomenal community!
Be sure to provide them with oyster shell continuously in a sepaRate container.
Best of luck and have FUN with your flock!

Thank you so much. I love my chickens

 

[True Patriot]

What is the protien percentage of the feed you use? Also how old is the feed? Layers need a good amount of protein in their diet. Should be a minimum of 16-17% Feed should also be used within 30 days of the mill date on the bag. Once grains are milled they rapidly lose nutritional value. You should only buy what they can eat in a month.

 

[Carmenmchone9]

What is the protien percentage of the feed you use? Also how old is the feed? Layers need a good amount of protein in their diet. Should be a minimum of 16-17% Feed should also be used within 30 days of the mill date on the bag. Once grains are milled they rapidly lose nutritional value. You should only buy what they can eat in a month.

Thank you. I have to buy my feed twice a month. I will check the protein ratio

 

[Carmenmchone9]

I'm not sure what you mean by loose yolks. Are the shells not hard or are the yolks not formed properly? Can you post pics of what you're talking about? Are the insides of the eggs more water than normal?

I don’t have a pic but will take some on the next event . What I mean by loose yokes is, when you crack the eggs the yoke doesn’t hold the firm round shape but like it was ruptured.

 

[True Patriot]

I'm thinking it's a protein issue. But I don't know all egg problems so see what others have to add.

 

[Carmenmchone9]

I'm thinking it's a protein issue. But I don't know all egg problems so see what others have to add.

Thank you I will definitely increase the protein

 

[aart]

First thing I'd do is lose the garlic...it's not necessary and can cause problems.
Benefits are negligible and too much can cause anemia.
Not sure if it's causing the weak yolk problem, but first thing to eliminate.

Some birds just have weaker yolks due to their individual ability to process nutrients.
It sounds like not all your birds are laying weak yolks?
Any way to identify which bird(s) is laying them?
Hard to do but might be good if you can,
so you don't use those eggs for disappointing fried eggs.

should also be used within 30 days of the mill date on the bag.

So, would you buy a lesser quality, less preferred formulation, or lower protein feed because it has a more recent mill date?

This "less than a month(or whatever number) and it's no good" goes around, but many are not able to find feed that fresh, and I'm not sure how quickly feeds may actually deteriorate. Obviously the fresher the better, but let's not put hard numbers on things where there's no data. Asking the mill date is good, but damning it after 30 days is unwarranted fear mongering.

Most stores have a 6 month stocking expiry. I have used 6mo feed and it was deficient, proven by consumption rate and lack of production that then skyrocketed after getting fresher feed...but I also regularly use feed up to 2-3mo that has caused no problems what so ever. Sorry, mini rant over...nothing personal TP, figured you could take the critique.