[Ellex]

Hi

My 4 hens have just started laying in the past two weeks (my son was so happy altho he was eating all the eggs and now he's fed up of them! At least the rest of the family will be able to have some).
I need some advice re the egg white-it has a weird texture, I can't really describe it, all I can say is it's bitty.
Is it because they are young? A larger egg I had today seemed better and the yolk was much yellowed.
My mom used to have eggs off her neighbour and she had some the same, he seems to think this is the problem.
Could it be the layers mash they are fed on?
Any advice much appreciated.

Cheers

[andymac]

Hi.
Probably because they're fresh, unlike bought ones that are days or weeks old.
We have similar ones, it seems to show most in boiled eggs.
Not a problem as far as I'm aware. 

[rachelr]

Fresh eggs are not meant to be boiled. Not that you cant its just the shell wont come from the eggs too easily. If you kept them a week then boiled them they will be fine.

If you try and boil eggs and use for egg sandwiches you can see how much white you lose that sticks to the shell. This is because they are soooooooooooo fresh

Enjoy your new found home grown eggs they will get better and better. Dont forget too give your girls treats as payment lol

[Ellex]

Thanks-I did boil some last night & the white did stick to the shell! I'll only use the older eggs now for boiling & poaching.

Thanks

[8doubles]

Soft boiled eggs with dippy soldiers are fine with fresh eggs as are poached . Fresh fried eggs take a bit longer to cook through as they sit up higher in the pan than supermarket eggs.
Only hardboiled eggs you need to peel cleanly need to be a week old or older.

The bitty eggs you mention will probably improve when the hens get the production line running properly.

[Tigerwren]

Hi Ellex,
by bitty do you mean like little flecks of white which are almost like a calcium deposit?  My white leghorn has been laying a month or so now and all of her eggs have a few of these floating in the egg white.

[Ellex]

Hi Tigerwren,
 No not flecks of white-it was more that the white wasn't smooth in texture. They seem better now they're getting larger. Had 4 beauties this morning-they were all huge!

[compostqueen]

Egg white from the girls first eggs are very jelly like but firm. It's a sign of freshness and it makes great poached egg