Weak yolk wall

[Black wallnut]

I keep getting eggs with weak yolk walls. Any idea on what I can give my hens to fix this? I currently feed Purina Layena crumbles and they have access to oyster shells. the yolk frequently break during a gentle flip for over easy in the fry pan.

 

[Judy]

I have tried to find an answer to the same question for years, with no success. Here is an old thread that does address it, but probably won't solve your problem any better than it did for me:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/271894/weak-egg-yolk-wall/0_20

I've fed several different brands of feed, always offered oyster shell on the side, and for a year or two, had a free range flock who foraged in a small woods and also had commercial feed available. None of this changed the yolks a bit.

I too love an over easy egg with an intact yolk. I've gotten in the habit of watching cooking channels, and discovered that professional chefs basically never flip their eggs. One taught me a new trick that I have beeen experimenting with: Fry it on medium low heat, covered, without flipping. Does a pretty good job of getting the white cooked while leaving the yolk runny. He is a professional chef but learned the trick from his mother, who used a dinner plate as a lid, lol. Maybe yolk walls just weren't meant to be as strong as we'd like?

 

[Ridgerunner]

I don’t have any answers to this either. Some hens are put together differently genetically and they put their eggs together differently. Maybe this has something to do with it?

Early in a laying cycle, the egg whites are thicker than later in the laying cycle. Just before they are ready for a molt, the whites can be pretty runny. Is it somehow related to this?

Older hens can have problems putting the eggs together the right way, just like pullets can. But I don’t keep any hen past three years and I still occasionally have this problem so maybe this is not a cause. Maybe it could contribute for some hens? It could be a combination of things or separate causes.

Maybe how old they are or how warm they were stored? I open unhatched incubated eggs. With most of those it’s hard to open a totally undeveloped egg without breaking the yolk.

I don’t know what causes it either. Sometimes it’s a problem and sometimes it’s not.

 

[aart]

I wonder if fresher eggs have more delicate yolk walls....and the ones from the store are tougher because they are older? Could be whether they are stored at room temp or in the fridge too?

I use the covered and no flip technique for 'over easy' eggs too....and I sprinkle a few drops of cold water in the edge of the pan before covering it, this creates some steam to cook the white.

 

[Black wallnut]

Thanks for the responses. Maybe I'll just change to liking sunnyside up once more.

 

[Judy]

I wonder if fresher eggs have more delicate yolk walls....and the ones from the store are tougher because they are older?

You know, that does make sense. Maybe that's it.