Thin egg whites

[suzychappstick]

Hi all, my family loves over easy eggs, but a lot of the times they end up breaking when they go to flip them. The yolk really looks nice and is a deep yellow/orange. The whites have always looked thin to me. I feed them Dumor 16% Egg Maxx Pelleted Chicken Feed, mealworms, Dumor 5 grin scratch feed supplement and they also have a seed block in the run. They have access to plenty of calcium and grit. It is winter here in MN, but even in the summer when they get to get out and free range they are the same way. Any suggestions on different food or supplements?

 

[FowlProtector]

Hi all, my family loves over easy eggs, but a lot of the times they end up breaking when they go to flip them. The yolk really looks nice and is a deep yellow/orange. The whites have always looked thin to me. I feed them Dumor 16% Egg Maxx Pelleted Chicken Feed, mealworms, Dumor 5 grin scratch feed supplement and they also have a seed block in the run. They have access to plenty of calcium and grit. It is winter here in MN, but even in the summer when they get to get out and free range they are the same way. Any suggestions on different food or supplements?

Suggestions for Improving Chicken Egg Quality During Winter

The health and nutrition of chickens play a crucial role in the quality of the eggs they produce, particularly during the cold winter months. Below are several insights and recommendations addressing the thin egg whites, yolk breakage, and overall egg quality in your flock.

Egg Quality and Thin Whites

Thin egg whites can be indicative of aging hens or potential nutritional deficiencies. Here are some strategies to enhance protein intake and improve egg quality:

High-Protein Treats: Incorporating additional high-protein treats such as cooked eggs or yogurt can boost the overall protein intake.

Supplements: Adding hemp seed or flaxseed to their diet provides healthy fats and proteins, which can contribute to better egg quality.

Omega-3 Enriched Feed: Treats enriched with omega-3 fatty acids may improve egg yolk color and overall quality.

Calcium and Shell Quality

Proper calcium intake is essential for strong eggshell formation, which can also affect egg white consistency. It’s vital to ensure your hens receive adequate calcium from sources like oyster shell or limestone grit:

Calcium Supplements: Monitor their calcium intake, especially if they consume a lot of scratch feed, which may dilute their nutrient-rich diet. Balance between layer feed and scratch grains is important to avoid deficiencies.

Limiting Scratch Feed: Excessive scratch feed can interfere with the intake of a complete diet essential for calcium and protein necessary for solid eggshells and quality.

Winter Care

During winter, external factors can influence egg production and quality. Consider the following aspects of chicken management:

Supplemental Lighting: Providing around 14-16 hours of light daily through artificial means can stimulate consistent egg laying.

Adequate Warmth and Ventilation: Ensure the coop is warm yet well-ventilated to prevent moisture buildup that could lead to frostbite—moisture control is critical for preventing stress on your flock.

Freshness of Eggs

Egg freshness significantly impacts breakability and overall quality:

Timely Collection: Regularly collect and utilize eggs laid recently to prevent thinning and fragility, especially in older eggs.

Specialized Layer Feeds

Considering winter-specific layer feeds might be beneficial:

Nutrient-Rich Blends: Look for specialized layer feeds that contain additional protein and calcium designed specifically to support laying hens during the winter months. These feeds help maintain egg production and improve egg quality under harsh conditions.

Monitoring your chickens' behavior and any variations in laying patterns could provide more insights into their nutritional needs and overall health. Adapting their diet in accordance with these factors is essential to enhance the quality and stability of their egg production throughout the winter months.

 

[U_Stormcrow]

Yes. That feed regimen takes a nutritionally borderline feed (the layer formulation), adds things of even lesser nutritional value (the 5 grain scratch and the flock block) which is only partially corrected (in some ways, worse in others) with expensive mealworms leaving only the hope that free ranging fixes the rest.

That's not on you. Plenty of people are convinced that is the way they are supposed to raise birds, mostly by people selling something, or by people who themselves have bought in to what was being sold.

The key amino acid in membrane formation is Threonine. There are others, but almost all of them are amino acids the hen can make on its own. Threonine, however, they need to get from their diet - they can't make enough themselves. Unfortunately, you won't find Threonine on most feed labels. Good sources for it are animal meals, soy meal, corn gluten meal, not much else. It doesn't appear on most feed labels because, in the typical U.S. corn/soy based chicken feed, you almost can't help but get adequate amount assuming your crude protein levels are at least about 16%.

Dumor 16% Egg Maxx contains no soy, no corn gluten meal, and very little animal protein. Ingredients: Wheat Middlings, Ground Corn, Corn Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles, Porcine Meat and Bone Meal, Calcium Carbonate, Salt, [...]

Whole corn is very low in threonine (roughly 7-8x less, by weight) compared to corn gluten meal. CDDGs are about 1/2 as good as CDGM. Wheat is similar. The scratch makes that worse. The flock block makes it worse. Mealworms are protein (and Fat!) dense, and relatively high threonine content, but very expensive.

My recommend is that you stop the flock block, stop the scratch, offer mealworms only as a treat (less than 10% of their daily intake, by weight) until you run out of the mealworms. You can (and should) continue to let them free range. Just feed your Dumor.

Re-evaluate your eggs in about 60 days. If you still aren't satisfied, use the money you are saving not buying scratch, flock blocks, mealworms to buy a feed with soy meal and/or more animal proteins. Re-evaluate at the end of the bag. Keep doing so until you find a feed that satisfies your needs at a price you are willing to pay.

 

[FowlProtector]

Also, I do not recommend Dumor brand at all, and I have never had good luck with it."

 

[Altairsky]

This is my personal experience so take it with a grain of salt.
My chickens always free range, and I always fed them a natural diet like Perris recipe.
Their egg whites were so thick I had to literally murder the eggs with a fork if I wanted to scramble them. No way to eat them raw either, since they are as thick as a large slug.
Then I joined the forums and everyone told me to feed them industrial layer feed or they would get sick and die. So I did. I gave them layer crumbles.
Their eggs quickly became disgusting. The white looked like water, and they felt like the store bought eggs but even more watery.
So I quickly went back to their previous diet. It took them 2 months to lay thick eggs again.
I later discovered that the feed only had 14% protein which is below the bare minimum.
16% is still too low for decent thickness of egg white. The egg white is made of protein, and hens need a lot of protein to build a thick egg white.
I suggest you to add plenty of protein to their diet. Give them fish, meat, cottage cheese, brown bread soaked in milk, eggs. The more protein they can get, the thicker the egg white will be.
It can take up to 2 months after changing their diet to see results.