Pinkish membrane in my eggs?

[Melenae]

Hello I am new to raising chickens and was hoping someone could tell me if this was normal. I was washing out some eggshells to bake them and feed them back to my girls when I noticed that the membrane on the insides all had a pinkish hue when I removed them. The membrane appeared to be a normal color when I cracked them but when removed it had a pinkish hue. Google searching tells me that pink in eggs is a sign of bacteria but I did the float test before cracking them and all the eggs had sunk to the bottom. Also, they were super fresh eggs that had been laid that had been laid that morning. Thanks for your help!

 

[Melenae]

I also forgot to mention that this was laid by a Rhode Island Red and the shell color was brown.

 

[HuskerHens18]

If you're certain it was laid today I don't think there could be anything wrong with it. Could it be diet related? Any change to feed or treats?

 

[aart]

Are you removing the membranes? (<scratcheshead>Why?)
I usually rinse immediate then let air dry, then crush them up when bowl is full.
How long since your broke the egg to use did you notice the pink?

 

[Melenae]

If you're certain it was laid today I don't think there could be anything wrong with it. Could it be diet related? Any change to feed or treats?

Hmmmmm they have been eating more tomatoes since we have too many this year. Maybe you're on to something, thanks! Other than that though, no other changes in diet. Thank you

 

[Melenae]

Are you removing the membranes? (<scratcheshead>Why?)
I usually rinse immediate then let air dry, then crush them up when bowl is full.
How long since your broke the egg to use did you notice the pink?

I had never fed the shells back to my hens before so I looked up different ways on how to give them to the girls and it was split 50/50 on removing the membranes for fear of choking :/ I honestly felt like it was a waste of time halfway through and stopped because once baked they all broke up the same way so why do the extra step lol. I broke the eggs into a bowl and then rinsed them, so I would say within 2 minutes.

 

[coach723]

Honestly never heard of membrane color being an indication of bacteria. Some of my EE's that lay blue eggs have egg membranes that have a faint blue tint to them, so maybe the pink is from the brown shell coloring. I also don't remove them, after rinsing them, drying them in the oven, I grind them in an old food processor saved just for that task. Never had any issues. I mix it 50-50 with oyster shell and put in a separate feeder.

 

[Rose Quartz]

Hello I am new to raising chickens and was hoping someone could tell me if this was normal. I was washing out some eggshells to bake them and feed them back to my girls when I noticed that the membrane on the insides all had a pinkish hue when I removed them. The membrane appeared to be a normal color when I cracked them but when removed it had a pinkish hue. Google searching tells me that pink in eggs is a sign of bacteria but I did the float test before cracking them and all the eggs had sunk to the bottom. Also, they were super fresh eggs that had been laid that had been laid that morning. Thanks for your help!

It is some of the brown pigment nothing to worry about.

 

[Rose Quartz]

Protoporphyrin IX(brown egg shell pigment) glows red under uv light

 

[vivaciouswoman]

Honestly never heard of membrane color being an indication of bacteria. Some of my EE's that lay blue eggs have egg membranes that have a faint blue tint to them, so maybe the pink is from the brown shell coloring. I also don't remove them, after rinsing them, drying them in the oven, I grind them in an old food processor saved just for that task. Never had any issues. I mix it 50-50 with oyster shell and put in a separate feeder.

I stick the detritus from cracked eggs directly into the microwave for about 10-20 seconds each, depending on the power of that microwave. If I have a stack of 5 egg shells from breakfast, they go onto a napkin and get zapped for 1-1.5 minutes. It cooks everything up, kills bacteria, and I can just crumble the shells and whisps of membrane into a bag or bowl for redistribution to my girls.

Incidentally, that membrane has serious nutritional power: it's filled with glucosamine, chondroitin, and hyaluronic acid...the same stuff we spend MILLIONS of dollars on for joint health supplements every year in the United States. Do let it stay in the foodway!