a mere ounce<\/a>\u2014even smaller than the USDA\u2019s minimum weight for a peewee egg. Since then, the same hen has laid one more. Two days after I\u2019d brought that second egg in from the nest box, I was busy getting the family ready and out of the door for the day and decided I\u2019d whip up a quick egg-white sandwich to take with me.<\/p>\nBut, that morning I went hungry.<\/p>\n
The small egg was the third of the three eggs I\u2019d grabbed from the fridge, and cracked into the hot, buttered iron skillet. I don\u2019t remember now what my brain noticed first: the absence of yolk, the sight of watery black muck, or the smell of frying rot on the hot surface of the skillet that didn\u2019t take its time filling the four walls of my home. I can\u2019t say I\u2019ve ever experienced anything that disgusting.<\/p>\n
The rotten egg was only a couple days old. It wasn\u2019t an egg set aside or forgotten in the nest box. I\u2019d collected a handful of mildly dirty eggs that I was washing in a dishpan in the kitchen sink. (One of the newest hens has gone broody for the first time, and she is not the tidiest of broodies.) As I washed the eggs, none was floating. Floating eggs are known to be bad, eggs that sink to the bottom are fresh, and those that stand up a bit from the small end are aging but fine to eat.<\/p>\n
That putrid egg was was fresh, but it sunk in water just like the rest.<\/p>\n
Sometimes an egg has a defect we can\u2019t see that can let in bacteria, but that kind of infection takes time. While rare, an infection of the oviduct can cause the formation of a rotten egg before it\u2019s shelled and laid in the nest.<\/p>\n
Black\u2014or green or red\u2014inside of an egg is a bright neon sign of infection. Because the egg was only two days old, and because it was handled like all the other healthy eggs, I was certain one of my hens was suffering. But, she hasn\u2019t laid another rotten egg since.<\/p>\n
Raising a mixed flock makes identifying eggs very easy. I know exactly who lays five of the eight kinds of eggs we collect, but three remain a mystery. Even so, I could separate our entire egg stash into eight distinct collections if I chose to. Because each breed lays her own individual shade, raising a mixed flock allows me to scrutinize one type of egg if necessary.<\/p>\n
The total absence of yolk in the rotten egg was the most important clue. A 1-ounce egg from a large hen isn\u2019t normal to begin with. So far, one hen has only laid two: one small egg with a normal yolk and a second without a yolk that was purely rotten. All other eggs of the same shade have been regular size, healthy and edible.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s time to isolate the three birds whose eggs I haven\u2019t identified. What I do know is that she\u2019s a member of the new flock. My hope is that it\u2019s an isolated incident, but realistically, I have a feeling we\u2019re headed toward a dire poultry circumstance.<\/p>\n
Frying a rotten egg has been the most revolting experience I\u2019ve had as chicken keeper yet. Have you ever had a hen lay a rotten egg?<\/p>\n
Read more of Chicken Quarters \u00bb<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rachel Hurd Anger Not long ago, one of my hens laid an egg that weighed a mere ounce\u2014even smaller than the USDA\u2019s minimum weight for a peewee egg. Since then, the same hen has laid one more. Two days after I\u2019d brought that second egg in from the nest box, I was busy getting the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":109,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[10456,43],"tags":[10328],"class_list":["post-1475","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poultry","category-urban-farming","tag-chicken-quarters"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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