Thick, clumpy egg yolk -- causes? safe to eat?

[luckysevens]

A few of my easter egger's eggs had a really thick, clumpy yolk. The eggs were all laid within the last week or so. Does anyone know why this happened? Are the eggs safe to eat?

Thanks for any advice.

 

[CMV]

I have never heard of what you are describing. Has the hen always laid these funky eggs or is this a new development? I can't offer you any advice because i don't have any idea what's going on. Good luck solving this one.

 

[nikklynn]

We just found 2 eggs with this problem as well. I don't know what the problem is/was and how it happened. I'm looking for the answer. We didn't eat these eggs.

 

[DaniellePage]

I too have had an egg this morning had a normal yolk with what seemed to be gooey or thicker clumps of yolk that would not mix in well. I have been searching the threads. I will test out a few more to see what happens. It was only with one hen's egg. All I can think of is that she had roundworms and the others didn't. I have had a thicker yolk before or one small "glob" and have eaten them with no ill effects (scrambled cooked). This one had several "gobs" in it. I guess you wouldn't know it it were softboiled or hardboided. other than the gobs, the egg was normal shell and whites.

 

[subhanalah]

Could it be a sign of a reproductive tract infection of some kind?

 

[Wol1]

Could they have gotten too cold? Eggs that are frozen (at or below 32 F) result in thickened, gloppy yolks. ??

 

[DaniellePage]

Could they have gotten too cold? Eggs that are frozen (at or below 32 F) result in thickened, gloppy yolks. ??

It is a slim possibility they got too cold. Whenever i have seen eggs freeze they usually crack. Do they always crack when frozen? I usually get to the eggs at least a few hours after they were laid and we don't get below 30F too often here and my coop usually stays about 5 F above the outside air.

They rest of the eggs were hardboiled and I couldn't tell if they had gloops or not. My have been just that one. There are 2 others i have not scrabled yet from before the valbazen treatment. I scrambled the ones after the treatment (not to eat) and they were fine.

I will have to take a few from the other girls and get them to below 32F without cracking and see how the yolk does.
OOOOO... do I see a science fair experiment for those elementary students out there???

 

[Grit]

I know this is an old conversation but I found this to be helpful and it made sense to me since I have recently improved my hens diet and the yolks began to change with the improved diet. I almost threw two eggs out but decided to read a bit first. I was glad I did!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/330952/thick-yolk

"Good food causes it.

Insects, foraged greens and whatever else they're eating. Plus, good quality feed in the feeder. I attribute our nearly-solid raw egg yolks to the hens getting enough of everything they need, including nutrient-dense fats, proteins, and greens. Keep doing what you're doing. Those yolks are a fabulous food for you!"

 

[chickengeorgeto]

I know this is an old conversation but I found this to be helpful and it made sense to me since I have recently improved my hens diet and the yolks began to change with the improved diet. I almost threw two eggs out but decided to read a bit first. I was glad I did!

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/330952/thick-yolk

"Good food causes it.

Insects, foraged greens and whatever else they're eating. Plus, good quality feed in the feeder. I attribute our nearly-solid raw egg yolks to the hens getting enough of everything they need, including nutrient-dense fats, proteins, and greens. Keep doing what you're doing. Those yolks are a fabulous food for you!"

I am going to venture that what you are describing is a very fresh egg. As eggs get older they thin out and spread out more when broken out into a saucer. This can make a fresh egg white look more clumpy or clotted and result in a stronger membrane enclosing the yoke and make it look taller, higher, and tougher. Break a one day old egg into one saucer, and a two week old egg into a different saucer and you can plainly see the difference.

 

[Grit]

Yes, very fresh (under a week) and yolk only.