Egg Question - with Photos

[BonnieBlue]

One of my girls, who has only been laying for two weeks, laid an egg this morning that was the first "not perfect" egg I have had from any of my girls. Around the top/pointed end, the egg was rough, in a circle around the top. The area inside my red line was a shade lighter than the rest of the egg, though you cannot see that in the pics. The shell appears to be hard, as all of her eggs have been.

Is this sort of thing the egg shell itself? Is it the bloom? I am curious, because I don't know if I should go ahead and eat it now, refrigerate it, or if it will keep on the counter like the rest of the eggs.

Thank you for any advice or thoughts.

 

[NatJ]

One of my girls, who has only been laying for two weeks, laid an egg this morning that was the first "not perfect" egg I have had from any of my girls. Around the top/pointed end, the egg was rough, in a circle around the top. The area inside my red line was a shade lighter than the rest of the egg, though you cannot see that in the pics. The shell appears to be hard, as all of her eggs have been.

Is this sort of thing the egg shell itself? Is it the bloom? I am curious, because I don't know if I should go ahead and eat it now, refrigerate it, or if it will keep on the counter like the rest of the eggs.

Thank you for any advice or thoughts.

That one looks like extra calcium on the outside of the shell, except for the thinner spot you noticed (which would have a bit less calcium/shell than usual).

I would probably eat that egg relatively soon, because it's usually easier to eat an egg than to spend much effort wondering if it needs special storage I don't see any reason that storing it would be a problem, unless there is a crack in the membrane, but there is no good way to check the membrane without opening the egg (at which point you will not want to store the egg anyway.)

 

[BonnieBlue]

That one looks like extra calcium on the outside of the shell, except for the thinner spot you noticed (which would have a bit less calcium/shell than usual).

I would probably eat that egg relatively soon, because it's usually easier to eat an egg than to spend much effort wondering if it needs special storage I don't see any reason that storing it would be a problem, unless there is a crack in the membrane, but there is no good way to check the membrane without opening the egg (at which point you will not want to store the egg anyway.)

Is this just a normal "getting regulated" thing?

I'll just go ahead and bump it up in the eating rotation. I hope no ne of the other girls are offended. lol

 

[NatJ]

Is this just a normal "getting regulated" thing?

Probably yes.

I'll just go ahead and bump it up in the eating rotation. I hope no ne of the other girls are offended. lol

I don't think the other chickens will care

 

[Mrs. K]

Most us, raised on grocery store eggs, unconsciously expect perfect eggs. All chickens lay some goofs some of the time. That is all that is, a little goof. In poultry industry, these are sold to companies that need eggs for their business of prepared food. So all we see is perfect eggs.

Nothing wrong with the egg, nothing wrong if you want to put it in the fridge. She may always lay eggs with a rough end, she may never lay that way again.

Mrs K

 

[User635240]

Those eggs are fine for eating, but not recommended for incubating.
Hens can get different calcium intakes depending on what they ate, like a lot of bugs, or a patch of extra calcium in the feed mix.

 

[The Welch Chickens]

Here is a great article about egg quality problems: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

 

[BonnieBlue]

Here is a great article about egg quality problems: https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

Great article. Thank you.

 

[GirlsHuntToo]

I had a Easter Egger hen that would lay eggs that felt like sandpaper every day. Not a change. In the same spots everyday! I was confused about Bonnie. Eggs were perfectly normal, but she was known to have a bit of blood on the yolk in almost all her eggs too. I had people that asked for her eggs because they loved the feel of them.
About 2 1/2 months ago though she was one of the bobcats victims when they were murdering my chickens. A few shots with my rifle into the ground next to them and they didn't come back. I missed on purpose but if I wanted to they would have been dead. I'm a sure shot!
They look like calcium deposits and it sometimes happens, nothing to worry about. Really common in hens starting out their egg laying career. If you are feeding oyster shells or another calcium source go a little easy on it.

 

[NatJ]

If you are feeding oyster shells or another calcium source go a little easy on it.

If you are providing calcium (oyster shells) free choice, just continue to leave it there so the chickens can self-regulate. As soon as you start trying to affect which ones eat how much, you will cause more problems than you solve.

If you were mixing oyster shells (or other calcium source) into their food, it is probably best to stop that anyway, regardless of whether the eggs are normal or not, and switch to providing it free choice. Too much and too little are both bad for the chickens, and they are usually pretty good at self-regulating.