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Author Topic: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem  (Read 7874 times)

Offline AliciaH

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Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« on: July 26, 2013, 02:29:02 pm »
Hey, Everyone!  We have 10 chickens in our coup, various breeds.  We pull our eggs every two days.  Lately, we've cracked three fresh eggs that were already black in the middle.  The first two badly so, the third was just getting going.  I'm concerned not only for my chickens and my family, but we get so many eggs that we give many to other family members.

Sick chicken?

Thanks for the help!
Alicia

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #1 on: July 26, 2013, 02:39:53 pm »
i spun that through google because it sounded interesting.  in a quick look, this is all i found and there was no answer.

http://www.rivercottage.net/forum/ask/poultry/black-egg-yolks-why/

i'd sure see if a vet or some long time chicken keeper in your area can help you out.  then please share!
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline AliciaH

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #2 on: July 26, 2013, 02:53:18 pm »
Thanks for the link, Kathy!  I was about to say all the chickens were two years old, but wait....no, there is one that is older.  The fact that it might be the old bird will give us a start. 

Anybody else had this happen?

And, yes, once we figure it out, I'll be sure to let you know!

Offline itsme

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #3 on: July 26, 2013, 04:03:32 pm »
We have never had anything like that happen here.  All of our eggs are the envy of everyone who sees them - bright orange yolks, different flavor from organic store-bought eggs.

I hope you figure out what's happening and let us know so we can avoid it!

Thanks for the post.
Bill

Offline AliciaH

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #4 on: July 26, 2013, 04:28:17 pm »
Will do, Bill!  I've managed to refine my search on Google and have found that though this is not common, it's not uncommon either.  Unfortunately, none of the folks with these occurrences have come back to their blogs and given a reason for the problem.  Maybe they just decided to cull the chicken?  My first problem will be to find out which chicken is laying the bad eggs.  It would be easier if they all used separate boxes, but they like the community approach, it seems! 

I did find two other posts where the chickens laying bad eggs were free range, so there was a great deal of "unknown" in what was being consumed.  Possibility of fungal or bacterial infection.  I do have one hen, Stephanie, that has figured out how to escape the coup.  She's named after Stephanie Plum for her entertainment factor and ability to escape captivity against all odds.  That gives me a 2nd suspect, in addition to the old hen, for a place to start.

Anyway, I have the old hen locked up in the horse stall for the weekend.  IF I can catch Stephanie, she'll go in there, too.  Hopefully, it will be one of the two.

The search goes on....

Offline JPinMO

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #5 on: July 27, 2013, 04:33:15 pm »
I do have one hen, Stephanie, that has figured out how to escape the coup.  She's named after Stephanie Plum for her entertainment factor and ability to escape captivity against all odds. 

You guys make me want to move out of town so I can join in the chicken fun!   :yippiechick:  My grandparents had some when I was a kid, but I don't remember them being anything like "amusing" - actually, they were kind of wild and scary (probably too many in the coop) 

"Anyone who doesn't take truth seriously in small matters
cannot be trusted in large ones either."  Albert Einstein

Offline AliciaH

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #6 on: July 27, 2013, 08:07:19 pm »
Actually, Stephanie is my first comedic chicken!  It started with her first escape from the coup and one of the barn cats decided to chase her.  She turned the tables on the cat and chased him instead!  We were in stitches!

Update...I emailed my avian vet.  Actually, she treats many species of exotic animals, but we go to her for our parrots.  I don't think chickens are within her normal repertoire of clients, but I emailed anyway.  Her comment was that there was, "likely infection/inflammation/tumor of the oviduct going on".  She wants me to send a picture, which I'll do the next time we have the misfortune of opening an egg like that. 

In the mean time, the first two suspects are still in the horse stall and have finally decided the nest box I put in there is worth sitting in.  Hopefully, we'll get some eggs soon and either have our suspect or can rule them out entirely. 

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #7 on: July 27, 2013, 09:05:57 pm »
I'm interested to see what you find. My wife has about 50 chickens in 2 separate coops and a few free range. We also have 2 white geese.
Jim
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Offline OldMech

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #8 on: August 08, 2013, 02:08:45 am »
Any updates?
  I have found three eggs like this.. one I opened to make scrambled eggs.. unfortunately.. it was the third one I cracked, ruining the other two :(   And twice I have made hard boiled eggs and went to peel it to find a green/black egg under the shell...
   Until about a month ago our chickens were not free range... we had a wild cat problem.. but I have swiftly dealt with that issue, and our chickens now spend the day happily running about the yard. I have found that they are more productive, and eat less pellets. At dusk each night, I wander out to the pen.. rum and coke in hand, and simply close the door to the chicken shed where they roost.
   I have not noticed a bad egg in a couple of months... hoping, as stated, it might have been an infection or something that the chicken finally got rid of???
39 Hives and growing.  Havent found the end of the comfort zone yet.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #9 on: August 08, 2013, 11:09:25 am »
Thanks for the update. Glad the problem stopped. I would have to stop selling them if one showed up at least until the problem went away.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Michael Bush

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #10 on: August 08, 2013, 11:16:43 am »
>Anybody else had this happen?

In 39 years of having chickens, no.  That is intriguing.  I did learn, though, to crack all eggs in a cup first.  Sometimes an egg gets hidden somewhere for a while before it's found and it's never a good thing to crack a bad one into a nice bowl full of good ones...
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Offline loumaro

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #11 on: August 08, 2013, 11:53:00 am »
You could check each egg with a light (candle your eggs) you could surly see a problem through the shell. This
how the old timers used when they took their eggs to the store. My parents used to do this.

Louie

Offline OldMech

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #12 on: August 08, 2013, 12:44:07 pm »
Not a bad Idea.. I have candled eggs in the past to check for development, never thought to use that method to see if they were good or bad.
39 Hives and growing.  Havent found the end of the comfort zone yet.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #13 on: August 08, 2013, 12:49:06 pm »
We float test all of our eggs. The bad ones will float. the good ones sink. I don't know what these black yokes would do.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #14 on: August 08, 2013, 01:53:21 pm »
i have found that the float test is not so accurate if the eggs have been in the refrigerator.  anyone else test that?
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline AliciaH

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #15 on: September 05, 2013, 12:28:11 pm »
Hi, Everyone!  I promised an update, but unfortunately it's pretty anticlimactic.  We were in the process of trying to figure out which chicken was the culprit when the bad eggs stopped.  We haven't discovered any for several weeks now, and because of this, never found out which chicken it was.

Sounds like we're not the only person this has happened to.  Maybe that's why there is so little information about curing the chicken -- because it passes on it's own?  Strong argument for the virus theory.

Anyway, glad it's over.

Thanks for the input, Everyone!

Offline Modenacart

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #16 on: September 06, 2013, 09:04:55 pm »
Backyardchicken.com is a great place to get information.

Offline AliciaH

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Re: Fresh Chicken Eggs Gone Bad - Need Help Diagnosing Problem
« Reply #17 on: September 07, 2013, 04:27:20 pm »
Thank you for the resource!

 

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