No Egg Whites?

[daddylud]

We have a wild chicken in our neighborhood. It has been wandering around for over a year flying over our block walls from yard to yard. We found that she spends a good deal of time in our backyard and discovered she has a nest in one of our bushes. We pulled 10 eggs out of the nest yesterday morning while she was away and they were all very light. When we cracked them open, they were all in various stages of rotten and all appeared to have only yolk and no egg whites. The yolks were thick - a couple of them almost like molasses with varying shades of green, brown, and yellow. I am wondering if anyone has heard of this. Is it the result of being malnourished or dehydrated? I assume she is not getting enough water... especially in the AZ heat. We are surprised she is even alive. We have left some water and will get her some food to see if it makes a difference. I am curious if anyone knows if there is something else wrong with her.

 

[Judy]

I have no idea -- but I have a link to a rather thorough article on egg defects -- click on the links at the left and you get various situations. Maybe it will be helpful for you:

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/1/egg-quality-handbook/11/egg-defects

 

[daddylud]

That's a great resource. Thank you. Unfortunately, I could not find any references to missing egg whites or dry eggs. The sad thing is all the references on the site to egg issues that cannot be corrected with diet changes result in culling the offender.

 

[CMV]

I think you are just finding really old eggs. I tossed some unbroken eggs into my compost last year after treating for an illness. This year when I turned my compost I re-discovered those eggs the hard way. The egg white were gone, but the yolks were nasty green and brown...and stinky enough to knock you over with one whiff. I think the eggs you are finding might have been there for longer than you suspect.

Good luck with her.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

This is really nasty, BUT............about a week ago I found an egg in one of DH coats that he hadn't worn since last winter

it was light as a feather. So, me being me, it took it outside to investigate. When I cracked it open, there were no whites at all, and the yolk had dried to the inside of the shell. It almost looked like it had been blown out. I think you probably are just finding very old eggs. Especially since you found yolks in various stages of yuck. If you are worried about her diet, perhaps you could give her a little scoop of food when you notice her in your yard. Good luck!

 

[daddylud]

Thanks for the replies. I'll provide some food and water and keep an eye out to get a new egg to see what it looks like. We'll see...

 

[drivingfive]

I only know this because I just had to do an egg experiment in my Chemistry class but yes, they eggs were simply old. The membrane and shell have pores and the whites are mostly water so they simply evaporated. How cool to have a stray chicken though. I would try to keep her!