My eggs are to hard!! Need assistance

[jwatts]

Hello, i have a dozen layers,(rir,barred rock,black copper marans,auracanas) There eggs seem to be very hard to crack sometimes and the film on the inside seems thick, especially after hard boiling. What can i do to mak the eggs a little less hard? I feed them 50/50 layer pellets and cracked corn. I do incubate my own eggs and the ones that dont hatch i discect them and i see that the film is very tough, I just wonder if i can make it not so tough somehow and maybe more will hatch? Thank you

 

[Chick Charm]

A healthy hen will have harder shells. Store bought eggs are a bad gauge as to how hard a REAL egg should be. Brown egg shell colors need more nutrients to produce and egg shells tend to be a bit stronger. Providing lots of grass/greens will help a hen to have a good nutritional balance, and this will effect egg quality. Roughly 1/3 of a chickens diet can be green vegetation. Especially sprouting shoots. My 16 chickens seem to eat more grass than anything else. Keeps the food bill down too.

If you want it to be a bit easier peeling eggs after hard boiling, wait about 7 - 10 days after they are laid before cooking. This will make it easier.

If your humidity is right in the incubator a healthy chick will make it out most of the time.

50/50 feed to corn ratio is on the low end of providing enough protein and nutrients to make good layers. I have family that still feed this way, so I understand that this is done to lower the feed bill. However if you feed 50/50, you really must go with at least 20% protein for your layers. Diluting the protein is hard on a hens production.


Hope this helps and wish you the best.

 

[donrae]

It's how eggs are supposed to be. Hard shells, good membranes to protect the baby inside. And the chick needs to be strong enough to hatch from the egg to survive, that culls out weak animals. I'd say your hens are right on track.

 

[Chaneys Ranch]

Thanks to the OP, I was asking myself this same question! My geese lay incredibly hard eggs, and have a pretty difficult time hatching. They free range, and eat a LOT of vegetation. We rarely see one hatch. I do provide flock raiser to them also, but they usually don't eat much of it. duck and chicken eggs are super hard too. Sure are tasty tho!