[Carrie99]

Hi, so today I went to fry an egg and upon cracking it I did notice the shell was thinner looking/lighter coloured than normal, I cracked it anyway and I have never seen anything so awful. The whole thing was a dark green colour, I couldn't tell you if it had a yolk as I threw it away without a thought for research at the time, I just wanted the image to leave me! Obviously this put me off my dinner a little but my main concern is that my hen may be poorly. I know the hen it came from and she's a large buff Orpington. The egg can't have been very old and they are stored in my kitchen, admittedly it's been very warm lately and they aren't refrigerated but none of the other eggs have been odd in any way.
I think she's probably 2/3 years old at the moment.
 All the hens have access to grit and a diet of layers pellets and veg.

I've searched the forum but couldn't see much and a few sites mentioned a certain bacteria but stated that was rare? Any help or advice would be great, I'd hate to think she's poorly.

[New shoot]

I think that it is more to do with the thinness of the shell.  The shell acts as a barrier to bacteria, but a thin shelled egg may allow bugs in, giving you nasty green eggs for tea. 

Not nice for you, but it may be that your hen is just slowing down with her laying.  As they get to that stage, you will get an odd egg now and again, a bit like when they first start laying.

If you hen seems well and her diet is good, I don't think you need to worry.  Plain grit is for their digestion, so if it doesn't contain bits of oyster shell, you could offer that as well 

[Debz]

I had a girl that occasionally laid a really rough shelled egg.  You didn't want to ever eat that one.  I don't know how quickly it went rotten but it always did.  Most other days, her shells were perfectly normal and her eggs kept beautifully.  I shouldn't worry over much but avoid opening the thin shelled ones if you don't want to be put off your tea.

[jaydig]

One of my older girls is now laying thin shelled eggs, and they go rotten in no time.  It seems a shame after all the effort that goes into laying an egg, but they go straight into the kitchen bin. 

[Carrie99]

Thank you so much for all your replies! That's made me feel a lot better, I'll keep an eye on there and I will replenish my oyster shell supply as well. Goodness, it's going to take some time to get over that green egg, haha!

[Beekissed]

Whenever we get a thin shelled egg it is laid aside from the others so that it can be used first when next we cook an egg.  Same with any that are accidentally cracked or that had to be wiped too thoroughly for cleaning...all are then compromised by these actions and must be eaten within a couple of days. 

[Flowerpower136]

Thankfully, have never had that happen despite having had lots of thin shells in the past from my old ex batts.
I'll be on the lookout for iffy shells from now on though!