Question about slimy eggs

[aart]

OP mentioned seeing egg yolk too

They seemed unsure of what it was.

they are slimy with sticky clear goo (egg whites?) or yolk on the outside.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Btw, whenever someone slimes the nest, it dirties all the eggs in there. So annoying because I'd rather not have to clean them to protect the bloom.

 

[aart]

Sometimes there is clearly yellow slime. Not a fully intact yolk. Here's an example from eggs I collected yesterday.

View attachment 2690954

However it isn't always yellow. Sometimes it is just a clear glob. The nesting material is usually wet when I find these things. No obvious egg shell remnants that I see.

Oh, well, that definitely broken egg(s)....they consume the shells and as much of the contents as they can.

 

[TJAnonymous]

Oh, well, that definitely broken egg(s)....they consume the shells and as much of the contents as they can.

Hmmm, I will look closely this evening to see if I find any egg shell remnants if it occurs today. I always inspect eggs for cracks and defects because I sell my eggs. The slimed eggs seem perfectly normal and intact. If I do occasionally find a cracked egg (usually from too many eggs in the nest), I've been giving it to the girls but never inside the coop and I smash it first. Maybe I'm creating this issue if someone is eating eggs in the nest?

 

[aart]

Hmmm, I will look closely this evening to see if I find any egg shell remnants if it occurs today. I always inspect eggs for cracks and defects because I sell my eggs. The slimed eggs seem perfectly normal and intact. If I do occasionally find a cracked egg (usually from too many eggs in the nest), I've been giving it to the girls but never inside the coop and I smash it first. Maybe I'm creating this issue if someone is eating eggs in the nest?

I would just start to gather eggs more frequently, replace every egg gathered with a fake egg. Not sure if that is possible for you, but it's about the only way to find out who is eating eggs and/or who might be laying weak/thin/soft eggs that are getting eaten.

I had nest messes and it took hourly trips out to the coop for several days before I finally caught one running around with a shell(a very thin shell)....and longer to find out who was laying the weak egg.