"Hens eggs are MOOSHY when boiled - PROBLEM??"

[allmypeeps]

I don't now where to post this but this is my question:

I have a comet/shaver red productory hen raised for an egg factory. ( we rescued her as a pullet so never actually lived the factory life) I had another one that recently passed at age 3 and a half of unknown causes- also rescued from the same source.

The one that passed had this pequliarness about her egg whites. When hard boiled they were solid, but mushy in consistancey and would smoosh in your fingers. (made for a gross hard boiled egg) We usually gave her eggs to the dogs. when I say mushy- I mean not just 'soft' and hard to peel like fresh eggs can be- I mean MOOOSHY like pureed cottage cheese.

2 yrs later (while the 1st bird was still alive)we aquired the second pullet (now just over 2) her eggs were always fine...until recently...

Now we have found them to have changed to becomming mushy like the other hens eggs were. We have started using them in recipies rather than hard boiling however we are concerned there is a problem?

she lives with a RIR that is a yr older than her and her eggs are fine- the whites when hard boiled are solid- not mushy.

Is this NORMAL? or is this a condition that runs in certain breeds? Are these eggs ok to eat? No viruses or anything that could cause this?

They are kept very clean and are on Organic layer pellets which contain DE. They also receive fresh foods of all types and it does not seem to correlate what so ever with what they are being fed. Their shells are fine and hard.

??? any info is apreciated! I swear its NOT that they are fresh- we leave them in the fridge over a week and boil the heck outta them and they are STILL like that. its got to be something else??? Our RIR's eggs are never like that even fresh.

 

[Judy]

My first thought was some sort of nutritional deficiency. A lot of fresh foods could throw the nutritional balance of the feed off, or the feed itself could have a problem. But that is just a guess; I certainly do not know, and have not heard of this before. So I thought I would give you a bump.

 

[kingmt]

I was reading this the other day. I would love to hear the answer.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=176113

 

[allmypeeps]

ok, I see this everywhere....what is a BUMP?

I'm not into the online lingo....

 

[kingmt]

Bump means that you put your topic back on top when viewing the recents. Bumps are not allowed in most forms.

 

[allmypeeps]

Quote:
I thought maybe too, but it was just wierd that the other bird eats the same thing and her eggs are fine, and that the two hens with the issue were the same breed. Bizaaaare!

As a kid we always had chickens and fed them all sorts of stuff- they were garbage disposals but never had an egg mushy like this-but we didnt have this breed. I would think though, since we rescued them as pullets on their way to an egg factory facility that they would have exceptionally 'good' eggs since they were intended to supply the public.

If it were a virus I would assume ALL my birds would have it.

maybe its genetic? I'll buy a carton of eggs from the company I rescued them from and see if all their eggs are like that....can't imagine they'd be in business if they WERE!

(and not that I want to support the egg factory that my birds wouldve lived and died in, but for the sake of enlightening this issue!)

mooshy eggs.......ewww!

 

[mypicklebird]

What do they look like when cracked open and freshly laid? What do they look like if you crack them open at 1-2 weeks old out of the fridge before boiling? If the whites are really runny and the yolk easily broken- older birds can lay eggs like this, or protein deficient birds. Old stale eggs are also like this, as the protein can degrade- but this is not just 1-2 weeks stale- but months. The white is almost pure protein (albumin), if she doesn't have enough of this in her body- she can't put it into the egg. I would hazard a guess that the feed is deficient- what is the protein level? OR there is something wrong with the organ that makes albumin (the liver), or something wrong with her reproductive tract where the white portion of the egg is deposited. Some bacterial infections can make the eggs soupy- if you crack some fresh eggs and some pre hard boil eggs- and the white and yolk looks suspicious- sour smell, snot consistency, or off color. I would stop eating these eggs and cull the bird(s). Another experiment to do would be for 2-3 weeks- get a different food. Organic pellet with DE added- what is the brand? is is a local mill? Buy a commercial food like purina layena or something, and see if the problem corrects, if it does- then your organic food probably is lower in protein than labeled- and you should call the company.

 

[kingmt]

I think most factory birds only lay for 6 months & then are culled for soup because of the laying quality.

 

[mypicklebird]

I don't think it is that the quality drops off drastically after 6mo of lay, but the quantity. The best feed to egg ratio in a production bird is going to be in the first year or so of life (once laying). It is more cost effective to replace the hens with new hens every year. A 'spent' production hen often has many more years of egg producing in her, if one is ok with 2-3 eggs a week instead of 1 egg a day. Egg production plants need lots of eggs for the feed to make the most $$$.

I like my older girls- they don't lay as often, but they lay BIG eggs. It is true though that production hens do burn out earlier, laying eggs is hard on the body, and a really high producer will likely not live past 3-4 years due to wear and tear on the body. The dual purpose breeds like rocks and orps can do well for many more years beyond that.



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[kellybelly]

Hi, I have the same problem. My number one girl ( miss henny-penny, a hybrid) has been laying eggs which when they are boiled, the white is just as you describe; mushy and rather disgusting!

This has only been for the last few weeks and it was around the same time that her shells became very brittle and thin. The shells also have calcified bumps on them and when we gently brush away the largest bump (which there is always one large bump) there is a hole underneath. She also has yellowish runny pooh's ( sorry, yucky!)

I have no idea what the problem is but we were advised to worm her to make sure that is not the problem and we will take it from there. I will let you know how it goes but in the mean time, if anyone else has any ideas we would be glad to hear of them.

Also, I should add that we found this bird walking down a country lane in the middle of nowhere (months ago) so we know nothing about her history. I had wondered if it could be age related?

Thank you,
kelly