Tough inner membrane

[WindingRoad]

in my SLW eggs. You know that usually thin layer that's so hard to peel off a hard boiled egg. I really have a hard time breaking though it when I crack the eggs for breakfast. My NHRed nor my Buff Orpington don't have that. Eggs are tasty and increasing in weight. SLW started laying just around T-day. One a day so I think they are trading off days to lay. Buff seems to have stopped laying and NHR still lays faithfully every day. None of them molted this fall. Buff and NHRed are about 2yrs old. They laid last winter according to the guy who gave them to me. SLW are about 20 weeks Started laying at 17 weeks.

Any thoughts about that inner membrane. I do feed oyster shell, right on top of their breakfast fare. They won't eat it out of separate container. And usually they just pick at their pellets and scratch until I put on OS and mealworms. Fussiest chickens in the world. They will eat Grapenuts with ground up eggs shells.

 

[Melky]

Here is the science behind fresh eggs. A couple days in fridge helps make it easier to separate from the shell. My husband likes to hard boil his in instant pot and feels they peel really easy this way.
https://www.scienceofcooking.com/eggs/boiled_eggs.htm

 

[aart]

Any thoughts about that inner membrane.

Some birds egg membranes are just tougher than others, especially newer layers.
It can be annoying when breaking eggs to eat, but not a problem to be 'fixed'.
There are actually a couple layers of membranes.

This might inform you:

 

[WindingRoad]

Here is the science behind fresh eggs. A couple days in fridge helps make it easier to separate from the shell. My husband likes to hard boil his in instant pot and feels they peel really easy this way.
https://www.scienceofcooking.com/eggs/boiled_eggs.htm

I don't worry about peeling them that was just an attempt to describe the membrane I was talking about. The time I have a problem is cracking them into a bowl to scramble. Just can't seem to break through that membrane on my SLW eggs. They are different than my Buff and NHRed. Just was curious if it was something I was causing. All 4 of my birds will not eat OS on the side. The only way to get them to eat it is to sprinkle it on their pellets and scratch. And yes, I feed scratch in the morning to help them stay warm during the day. Well, not today supposed to be close to 50F. Actually around 8pm 53F

 

[WindingRoad]

Some birds egg membranes are just tougher than others, especially newer layers.
It can be annoying when breaking eggs to eat, but not a problem to be 'fixed'.
There are actually a couple layers of membranes.

This might inform you:

Yeah they have only been laying since around T-day. But their eggs are very nice. Thick whites, BIG bright orange yolks and taste is superb. Can't complain about that. Might build a bigger coop next year and get some more chickens. I found a source for free pallets on Craigslist. Just gotta get my trailer registered so I can get them home. Spring hurry up and get here. And now I have a source for soon to be laying chickens from CL. She buys/hatches chicks and then sells them around 16 weeks. Lively, bright, energetic, nicely feathered SLW. She rotates her breeds. Eggs were good right from the get go. I think she must have been using good feed and maybe OS to. I only had them about a week before they started laying. They had a hard time with the pecking order, so they weren't eating very much so I don't think my OS had kicked in. I know there are other things to look for besides egg production, but so far so good. They are slowly getting to trust me. They hate being picked up but I like to do a once over each day. Check feet, crop, eyes, overall weight ( gain/loss). After all I am a retired RN. Daily assessments.

ETA: Great video. Thanks.