NY chicken lover!!!!

[Lynzi777]

Hi all,

I am very behind on BYC -- many pages missed during the past few very busy days.  Hope everyone is doing OK, Silky troubles aside!!

QUESTION:   Every now and then one of my hens' eggs breaks.  Today, Helen decided to use a box she has NEVER shown an interest in.  Therefore, there was only a scant handful or two of shavings in it, and her egg cracked  (LESSON LEARNED FOR ME:  DON'T BE STINGY WITH BEDDING).     [COLOR=FF0000]Anyway, is it safe to eat the cracked eggs? [/COLOR] Nothing has leaked out of this one, so maybe the membrane is not broken, just the shell.  I check and collect eggs often throughout the day; it's very fresh, just laid in the past couple of hours.


Thanks

[COLOR=FF8C00]Have a Spook-tacular Halloween.  Hope all the kiddies have tons of fun today and tonight, despite the horrible weather.[/COLOR]


TOB

That's odd about the eggs....I'm curious as to what others will weigh in and say too. Everytime I clean the coop I always put a nice layer of shavings in the nestbox along with some hay. They always manage to kick most of it out while they're trying to get ready to lay in there. I don't replace the shavings and keep filling the nestbox with shavings, they'll continue to lay in there with no problems happening to the eggs. I've never found a cracked egg. Could it be an egg from another hen and when the second hen goes in to lay she's kicking it around to get comfy and it happens to crack?

Edited to say: I re-read your post and realize this is not your main concern, it's more is the egg edible or not, this I don't know...I'd probably be iffy and throw it out if I didn't know, so again, I too am curious as to what others thoughts are on it.

 

[houseofknauss]

Hi all,

I am very behind on BYC -- many pages missed during the past few very busy days. Hope everyone is doing OK, Silky troubles aside!!

QUESTION: Every now and then one of my hens' eggs breaks. Today, Helen decided to use a box she has NEVER shown an interest in. Therefore, there was only a scant handful or two of shavings in it, and her egg cracked (LESSON LEARNED FOR ME: DON'T BE STINGY WITH BEDDING). Anyway, is it safe to eat the cracked eggs? Nothing has leaked out of this one, so maybe the membrane is not broken, just the shell. I check and collect eggs often throughout the day; it's very fresh, just laid in the past couple of hours.

Thanks

Have a Spook-tacular Halloween. Hope all the kiddies have tons of fun today and tonight, despite the horrible weather.


TOB

they way I always look at stuff is, if I am questioning it, and don't know the answer - don't do it. I would take the egg and smash it up and scramble it in the fry pan(shell and all) and give it back to them for dinner.

 

[Lynzi777]

they way I always look at stuff is,  if I am questioning it, and don't know the answer - don't do it.  I would take the egg and smash it up and scramble it in the fry pan(shell and all) and give it back to them for dinner.

Oh yea, that's true too...if you're ever iffy on something like that give it right back to the birds! ;-)

 

[Tough Old Bird]

Houseofknauss & Lynzi -

Thx for the tip girls! It makes good, common sense, I guess, to just not take any chances. Any avoidance of gastrointestinal mayhem is probably a smart move, eh? Just thought I'd ask, because some times I get answers on BYC that surprise me initially, but then I come to learn are true as I get more comfortable in my chicken-raising skin!

Lynzi, This particular nesting box was sparsely filled as it is mostly blocked from the hens' use because of the location of the younger birds' temporary indoor kennel-cage. Helen has never showed a lick of interest to be in it before, so I was surprised to find the cracked egg in it today. Like I said, lesson learned. It is entirely possible that one of the other hens stepped on it, because one of my Columbian Rock pullets looks ready to lay any day and she goes in and out of the boxes out of curiosity &/or instinct. I think Helen is moving where she lays because Pringles seems to have taken a shine to her original nest box. I found both their eggs in the same box the day before yesterday, even though there are 4 boxes to choose from.

(By the way, I know its Helen's egg because she is my only Marans and lays a gorgeous, dark brown egg.)

TOB

 

[Lynzi777]

Houseofknauss & Lynzi -

Thx for the tip girls!  It makes good, common sense, I guess, to just not take any chances.  Any avoidance of gastrointestinal mayhem is probably  a smart move, eh? Just thought I'd ask, because some times I get answers on BYC that surprise me initially, but then I come to learn are true as I get more comfortable in my chicken-raising skin!

Lynzi, This particular nesting box was sparsely filled as it is mostly blocked from the hens' use because of the location of the younger birds' temporary indoor kennel-cage.  Helen has never showed a lick of interest to be in it before, so I was surprised to find the cracked egg in it today.  Like I said, lesson learned.  It is entirely possible that one of the other hens stepped on it, because one of my Columbian Rock pullets looks ready to lay any day and she goes in and out of the boxes out of curiosity &/or instinct.  I think Helen is moving where she lays because Pringles seems to have taken a shine to her original nest box.  I found both their eggs in the same box the day before yesterday, even though there are 4 boxes to choose from.   (By the way, I know its Helen's egg because she is my only Marans and lays a gorgeous, dark brown egg.)

TOB

Ohh ok I see...guess it just seems odd to me still that they crack.

Well I wanted to get my silkies set up in the shed today but it so crummy out! Not even sure if we'll be able to go trick or treating later...:-/

 

[rancher hicks]

Hi all,

I am very behind on BYC -- many pages missed during the past few very busy days. Hope everyone is doing OK, Silky troubles aside!!

QUESTION: Every now and then one of my hens' eggs breaks. Today, Helen decided to use a box she has NEVER shown an interest in. Therefore, there was only a scant handful or two of shavings in it, and her egg cracked (LESSON LEARNED FOR ME: DON'T BE STINGY WITH BEDDING). Anyway, is it safe to eat the cracked eggs? Nothing has leaked out of this one, so maybe the membrane is not broken, just the shell. I check and collect eggs often throughout the day; it's very fresh, just laid in the past couple of hours.

Thanks

Have a Spook-tacular Halloween. Hope all the kiddies have tons of fun today and tonight, despite the horrible weather.


TOB

yes the egg is safe to eat as long as there is not yuk on it. If I find a dent or crack or even a small hole, I just leave it on the counter for breakfast the next day. Maybe I should call it "Brokenfast" or "Crackedfast".

Perhaps that's why it's called "Break- fast" Cuz you "break" the eggs.

In fact I had a hen sitting on two eggs and noticed one had a small crack. I took a white candle rubbed it over the crack and stuck it back under her. She hatched them both.

The occasional cracked egg can be due to many reasons. One being not enough calcium. This is why we give the Oyster shell grit. I do save egg shells and crush them up small and mix them with Granite grit.

Another reason as you've found out is not enough bedding in the box. More is always better. I prefer to use straw, (only in the nest boxes) but when I'm out I use lots and lots of large chip shavings.

OR another reason may be that another hen while getting in to do her laying steps on the egg and cracks it. Much better a crack than a break as I've experienced.

 

[rancher hicks]

On another note. My CR and Orp hens have not laid for some time. Lately I've been letting them out to range. Something they haven't been doing. Anyhow I noticed a light brown egg in the BM /EE coop. I also saw a hen in the nest box that was either the Sussex or a CR.

If it is the Sussex I can say she's finally recovered from the Fox incident. If the CR, then my assumptions may be right that a squirrel was going in and taking eggs.

This happened with my BM's last November. I trapped three young squirrels and some adults that time. It was some time before the BM girls went back to laying in their own boxes.

The moral ? If your girls are not laying make sure the check that something hasn't upset them. Or if they're not laying in boxes they used to use.

Oh my! I once had a snake fall on me as I entered the coop. I wonder if there is a snake in there. I've cleaned the coop, but I can't see up on the rafters. I'll have to do a thorough search up there.

 

[Glasshen]

On cracked eggs, if it is just a crack, it is probably ok. In fact, I remember buying eggs for cheap at the farmers market that were cracks...anyhow, being as how we are living large now with our own chickens and all, I don't feed those cracked eggs to the humans. But those are Bella the dog's lucky days. She gets them cooked and added to her meal. She is always very grateful.

 

[Gramma Chick]

Quote: x 2 yes I never waste it , I ether set aside in the frig in a bowl for breakfast the next day. or give it to the chickens .
If it is totally cracked & a mess I just throw it at the chickens ...they love raw egg ...they dont bother it unless it is open ...

 

[miquwid]

yeah I think so. I thought of making the silkie orange for Halloween But was a pain just to make that. Never edited a pic before. What it really needs is a freddy Krueger shirt to show how truly evil they are.

Now since silkies wear masks all year long I figure they should only show they're real face when trick or treating. See rancher is right they are aliens.

HAHAHAHAHAHA that's awesome We did find eggs in the nest box todfay! Now my silkies are bantams so super small compared to the rest of the chicks reason why they have a separate coop. Well don't you know the "sweet" one was harassing my wellie and chasing her all over the yard until my roo stepped in. I would hate to see what my "mean" silkie is doing. On the other hand is funny to see my brabanter try and fly it's a sorry sight LOL.

On another note. My CR and Orp hens have not laid for some time. Lately I've been letting them out to range. Something they haven't been doing. Anyhow I noticed a light brown egg in the BM /EE coop. I also saw a hen in the nest box that was either the Sussex or a CR.

If it is the Sussex I can say she's finally recovered from the Fox incident. If the CR, then my assumptions may be right that a squirrel was going in and taking eggs.

This happened with my BM's last November. I trapped three young squirrels and some adults that time. It was some time before the BM girls went back to laying in their own boxes.

The moral ? If your girls are not laying make sure the check that something hasn't upset them. Or if they're not laying in boxes they used to use.

Oh my! I once had a snake fall on me as I entered the coop. I wonder if there is a snake in there. I've cleaned the coop, but I can't see up on the rafters. I'll have to do a thorough search up there.

OMG that must have been a sight to see a snake falling on you.