Watery eggs

[chicknmania]

Recently I've cracked two eggs that seem watery inside; yolk is not firm, but sort of mixed with the white. One egg had blood in it, also. The eggs had been in the fridge a couple of weeks. I have never seen this before. Anyone know what causes it?

 

[chicknmania]

Hello? I'm beginning to get a complex! Do we have weirder chicken problems than anyone else in the world?

 

[Newchickenmom&kids]

Well...I googled "watery eggs" and got this....




Watery eggs

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The Classroom @ The Coop: Management archive: Watery eggs
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By Anonymous on Tuesday, February 13, 2001 - 09:55 am:
Why are some of my eggs watery? The yolk runs into the white which is also watery like a stale egg. They are collected daily and stored in the fridge. Any ideas? Is this a nutritional problem?


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By GINNY on Friday, February 16, 2001 - 10:26 am:
If a good many eggs are watery then it is definitely a nutritional problem - stick with commercial hen rations and add kelp to their diet and other fresh scraps. This should improve the quality and create firm, orange yolks with strong egg whites. Call your local feed store for further information - a great health book for chickens - The Chicken Health Handbook - by Gail Demerow - full of medical advice.

Good luck.



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By Possum on Saturday, April 7, 2001 - 07:30 pm:
Just found this site-Great! I also have watery eggs--the yolks break as soon as I crack the eggs and the whites are very runny and flat. My hens have free choice Layena, oyster shell (their shells are fine.), cracked corn and whatever they can find in the pasture, garden, yard and woods. What more could their little selves need?? They are excellent "chain harrows" and get the waste grain pre- and post-digestion from 14 horses. Is there any other reason besides nutrition? I thought it may be because some of the hens use the same nest, but even if I get the 1st egg, I've had the same problem. I've had chickens for many years and never had this problem to this extent. Any advice, info?

Pat


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[Newchickenmom&kids]

This site is also filled with LOTS of info!!




http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/PS020

 

[Dom'sHEns]

I've heard that watery eggs can also be caused by them being out in the heat too long. Do you frequently gather your eggs or just once a day? I hope this mystery is solved for you.
Stay well, Dom

 

[ChloesChicky]

Hey all- I just found this on a website-


Why are eggs watery and light-colored?

The trouble is in the feed somewhere. Too much green feed, especially green feed that springs from wet, soggy ground, will sometimes make the eggs watery. Or if you are feeding more mash feed than dry grain, it will have that tendency. Some people claim that the feed a hen eats does not affect the egg at all; but if it does not, why do eggs differ in color and quality? Eggs that are laid by hens fed wholly on wheat, or the by-products of wheat, such as bran, shorts or middlings, all have a pale yolk. Now feed the hens some green feed - any kind will do - and the eggs from the same hens will have a yolk several degrees or shades darker

 

[chicknmania]

Thanks everyone. If anything, our free-range hens get too much greens...I guess I would lean toward that "excessive vanadium" mentioned in the article, since we've never had this occur before. Chickens are a mystery.

 

[dlhunicorn]

In your post :
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=5098
you described an earlier virus problem in your flock which, as the following article notes, is a cause of watery whites...
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/BODY_VM047
"Disease . Viral diseases, such as Newcastle and infectious bronchitis, affect egg production in poultry. These viruses have a specific affinity for the mucus membranes of the respiratory and reproductive tracts. Because the virus directly infects and damages the reproductive tract, the signs of disease are manifested indirectly in the product of the tract, the egg. Thus, total egg numbers decline and eggshells become thinner and abnormally pale and have irregular contour. Internal quality is also adversely affected (watery whites). These egg production and quality problems can persist for extended periods of time.