Why are my eggs so ugly??

[CricketYang]

My ladies are laying pretty well, no soft shells yet. I have several hens from the ages of 8 mos - 3 years, and I would say they are all laying. However their eggs aren't as great of quality as the ones from the neighbor down the road or at the organic/all natural store in town. I know that pullet eggs tend to be smaller so I'm not so much concerned about the size of the eggs. It's just that after two-three days after they've been laid, the eggshell starts to deteriorate pretty fast, they get thin and so porous that you can start to see little dark spots on them (like when you candle an egg to look at the quality and you can see all of the splotchy pores). IDk what else I can do. They are on layer pellets, have access to oyster shells and I even feed them back their eggs (the cracked ones) with bits of crushed up shell in them. They get very little treats, maybe an apple every now and then, but very seldom. They have unlimited access to layer feed and water and aren't stressed (they are happy, social hens), no predators or an overly affectionate rooster. Some of the eggs are porous after a few days, lopsided looking (not perfectly egg shaped, one side will be fatter than the other) and others will look wrinkled. The only reasons I could think of are that they are just pullets, so they're not pro egg layers yet and that I shouldn't be washing the eggs after I've gathered them (washing off the bloom) because I don't refrigerate them immediately afterwards, maybe after three-four days after they've been laid I would put them in the ice box, but they're usually eaten/sold by then.

No one has gotten sick from the eggs or anything like that. The reasons why I'm concerned are because
1). I sell my eggs and I don't want my customers to think my eggs are ugly and not ever want to buy them again.
2). My eggs don't look as nice as everyone elses eggs

ps- My silkie and cochin eggs are perfect, it's just the other girls I am worried about (GLW, SLW, brahmas, EEs and BR). Yes, they are all kept together.

Thank you for any input.

 

[nefarmgal]

I am also interested in knowing the answer, as I have <1 year old hens and occasionally see a wrinkled egg or one with an odd shape as well. I just keep these ones out and use them up myself, then sell the pretty ones!

 

[CricketYang]

No one??

 

[kelidei]

Hmmmm, not sure but I do know that my older hens... their third laying season... I have had some funky eggs from them...same thing as you said porous shells, pimply, wrinkled and misshapen... but my younger girls are producing great eggs... I chalked it up to being older hens... could it be the older ones with the funky eggs?

 

[BitsyB]

I don't know the answer, but here's a bump!

IMO, if you can give them a variety of foods as well as the layer pellets it might help? It's harder in winter to provide the kinds of things that they'd find in the wild as their natural diet, but giving them greens (mine go nuts for spinach, chard, collards, etc) and protein in the form of mealworms or earthworms. My husband raises worms in our basement and we find these other bugs in there (the larva of something) and the girls fight over them when we bring some out for them. I also raise trays wheatgrass... Not everyone can or wants to take the time to do this extra stuff, but it at least for us we find the chickens are laying nice strong-shelled eggs. Oh I also give them oatmeal with some plain yogurt made from whole milk, maybe the extra calcium might help?

Hopefully someone who really knows what's going on will chime in...

 

[Judy]

Rather than adding foods, I think I'd add some oyster shell to their feed. Usually I don't really like to do this, but in this case maybe it would be a good thing, for a while anyway.

Hopefully this is just their process of "learning" to lay eggs and it will straighten itself out in time. Assuming the ugly eggs are from the youngsters, as someone else mentioned. Maybe some food coloring on some young vents would help sort it all out.

 

[SJ]

Ive been told not to feed hens egg shells. It was something about the shells can spread an illness if the shell came from a sick hen. So I dont feed mine egg shell but lots of people do. I heard one person say they bake their shells before feeding.

One of my SLW hen laid eggs with no shell for her first two months of laying and were odd shaped for weeks after she had shells on them. What a mess! Now she lays just fine even if they are the smallest eggs in my flock.

Hope someone has a solid answer for you.

 

[CricketYang]

The "porousity" seems to stem from most of the ladies, not just the old ones.

. I think it's the washing of the eggs and leaving them out on the windowsill. I've stopped washing them immediately, only washing right before I use/sell them and they seem to be holding up better.

 

[ginormous chicken]

Rather than adding foods, I think I'd add some oyster shell to their feed. Usually I don't really like to do this, but in this case maybe it would be a good thing, for a while anyway.

X2 . Calcium def.? Sometimes, even if you do leave oyster shells, the hens won't touch it. I would add some to the food. Not always a good idea. But something to try.
Good Luck!​

 

[Mac in Wisco]

There are numerous problems that you described that each come from different sources.

Slab sided eggs are usually caused by damage to the egg before it is laid. The majority of shell formation is done at night and before they lay the next morning. If there are disturbances that get them flying all over the place and bouncing of the walls, it can damage the eggs.

Wrinkled eggs happen from time to time. They are generally caused by a respiratory infection in the hen. If it's an occasional egg here or there I wouldn't worry too much. If it's a preponderance of eggs that are affected, it's time to start looking at their health.

As far as thin, poor shells go... there are a number of things:

- Salt or excessive chlorine in the water can be detrimental. Do you have a water softener? If so, use a tap with untreated water. Usually the hose bibs on the outside of the house aren't connected to a water softener, while everything inside the home is.

- Make sure they are not off their water for any reason. Water restrictions reduce food and mineral intake. Frozen water in the winter or hot water in the summer can reduce consumption. Make sure the watering equipment is clean.

-Make sure you are using a complete ration. Read the label. Some rations require additional calcium (the bags should be clearly marked if this is necessary).

- If you are feeding mash, make sure they are eating the minerals. The minerals are often very fine and settle to the bottom of the feed pan or trough. Let them clean it all up around mid-day before feeding them more.

- Do not feed them too much calcium. If you are feeding a complete ration do not mix additional calcium in their feed. Calcium, phosphorous, and Vitamin D3 need to be in balance for them to be able to process the calcium. Excess calcium is excreted along with phosphorous. By taking in too much calcium they end up with a phosphorous deficiency that also leads to poor shell quality. Very cold weather can increase feed intake, and thus mineral intake, dramatically. In cold weather their layer ration can be supplemented with some scratch for extra energy and to help dilute the ration a little. Just don't overdo it with the scratch and dilute their ration too much.

-Make sure they have plenty of layer feed available in the evening. Do not feed scratch in the evening. They need the calcium in the layer feed to generate that shell during the night. The minerals they eat before the lights go out are what they use to make that shell, if they don't have enough in their crop/gizzard, they use their own calcium reserves to form the shell until they can eat again.