If i hard boil a shop bought egg and then peel it, the shell comes away cleanly, but if I hard boil an egg from one of our own chickens it is not as clean to peel and often some of the white comes away with bits of shell. Does anybody know why? Thanks
Hard Boiled Eggs from own chickens
I guess if they are from your own chickens then they are very fresh, fresh eggs will be hard to peel, don't know the science behind but they are.
ETA: Found the below which might explain it
With eggs that are just a day or two old, the membrane beneath the shell sticks tightly to the shell making peeling the egg almost impossible. After a few days in the refrigerator the egg becomes easier to peel. Why is this? In fresh eggs the albumen sticks to the inner shell membrane more strongly than it sticks to itself because of the more acidic environment of the egg. The white of a freshly laid egg has a pH between 7.6 and 7.9 and an opalescent (cloudy) appearance due to the presence of carbon dioxide. After the protective coat is washed off the egg shell the egg becomes porous and begins to absorb air and loose some carbon dioxide contained in the albumen. This reduces the acidity of the egg which causes (after several days in the refrigerator) the pH to increase to around 9.2. At higher pH the inner membrane does not stick as much to the albumen so the shell peels off easier. In addition, as the egg gets older it will shrink and the air space between the egg shell and the membrane will get larger.
ETA: Found the below which might explain it
With eggs that are just a day or two old, the membrane beneath the shell sticks tightly to the shell making peeling the egg almost impossible. After a few days in the refrigerator the egg becomes easier to peel. Why is this? In fresh eggs the albumen sticks to the inner shell membrane more strongly than it sticks to itself because of the more acidic environment of the egg. The white of a freshly laid egg has a pH between 7.6 and 7.9 and an opalescent (cloudy) appearance due to the presence of carbon dioxide. After the protective coat is washed off the egg shell the egg becomes porous and begins to absorb air and loose some carbon dioxide contained in the albumen. This reduces the acidity of the egg which causes (after several days in the refrigerator) the pH to increase to around 9.2. At higher pH the inner membrane does not stick as much to the albumen so the shell peels off easier. In addition, as the egg gets older it will shrink and the air space between the egg shell and the membrane will get larger.
I had this with some egg mayo I made recently. so they were nice new eggs!
i bet yours tasted good, as well, buster.
i bet yours tasted good, as well, buster.
I have always had this problem with my hens too. I always thought their shells were perhaps not as dense as shop bought eggs ... but now i know otherwise.
me too. After boiling the eggs I find that if I run them under cold water for a few minutes this helps the peeling process, but not always. Getting that first bit of skin from the top of the egg seems to be crucial.
Originally Posted by Buster1874:
“If i hard boil a shop bought egg and then peel it, the shell comes away cleanly, but if I hard boil an egg from one of our own chickens it is not as clean to peel and often some of the white comes away with bits of shell. Does anybody know why? Thanks”
“If i hard boil a shop bought egg and then peel it, the shell comes away cleanly, but if I hard boil an egg from one of our own chickens it is not as clean to peel and often some of the white comes away with bits of shell. Does anybody know why? Thanks”
At least your eggs will taste a whole lot better. Free range I take it.
Originally Posted by whoever,hey:
“I thought you meant your chickens were laying hard boiled eggs!?!!
”
“I thought you meant your chickens were laying hard boiled eggs!?!!
”
That's nothing. We have friends who's chickens lay omelettes
I think it also depends on what you feed them and what breed. I remember when my dad started breeding chickens and laying eggs it depended on the feed to what kind of eggs they laid. When they first started laying, the shells were very soft and the eggs were quite small. I think you need to give it a few months and generally they don't lay well (or at all) during winter months.
I'm not altogether sure but now he uses something called 'layers pellets.' and he always gets really good eggs. I also think it also depends on the breed of chicken. He's got 2 greys (not sure which breed), 2 white stars, 2 devon reds and 2 blacks rocks. He always gets double yolkers from the greys.
Perhaps you could try mixing a few different breeds and noting the difference in the eggs
I'm not altogether sure but now he uses something called 'layers pellets.' and he always gets really good eggs. I also think it also depends on the breed of chicken. He's got 2 greys (not sure which breed), 2 white stars, 2 devon reds and 2 blacks rocks. He always gets double yolkers from the greys.
Perhaps you could try mixing a few different breeds and noting the difference in the eggs
Just leave them a few days. It only happens with very fresh eggs. We get about 6 a day so use slightly older ones when boiling.
Originally Posted by The Wizard:
“I think it also depends on what you feed them and what breed. I remember when my dad started breeding chickens and laying eggs it depended on the feed to what kind of eggs they laid. When they first started laying, the shells were very soft and the eggs were quite small. I think you need to give it a few months and generally they don't lay well (or at all) during winter months.
I'm not altogether sure but now he uses something called 'layers pellets.' and he always gets really good eggs. I also think it also depends on the breed of chicken. He's got 2 greys (not sure which breed), 2 white stars, 2 devon reds and 2 blacks rocks. He always gets double yolkers from the greys.
Perhaps you could try mixing a few different breeds and noting the difference in the eggs”
“I think it also depends on what you feed them and what breed. I remember when my dad started breeding chickens and laying eggs it depended on the feed to what kind of eggs they laid. When they first started laying, the shells were very soft and the eggs were quite small. I think you need to give it a few months and generally they don't lay well (or at all) during winter months.
I'm not altogether sure but now he uses something called 'layers pellets.' and he always gets really good eggs. I also think it also depends on the breed of chicken. He's got 2 greys (not sure which breed), 2 white stars, 2 devon reds and 2 blacks rocks. He always gets double yolkers from the greys.
Perhaps you could try mixing a few different breeds and noting the difference in the eggs”
The difficulty of peeling hard boiled and soft boiled eggs is in correlation to their freshnes. Nothing to do with the feed or what breed of hens.
Chickens that only lay eggs with a soft shell lack calcium in their diet. Even though at the moment of laying the shell is pliable but should go hard as soon as it's laid.
Young hens do lay smaller eggs and double yolked eggs are also mostly laid by young ones.
I would never give mine layers pellets or mash. AFAIK they contain hormones and meds. Mine get multi grains for free range birds, lots of greens and kitchen waste.
Originally Posted by LaChatteGitane:
“I would never give mine layers pellets or mash. AFAIK they contain hormones and meds. Mine get multi grains for free range birds, lots of greens and kitchen waste.”
“I would never give mine layers pellets or mash. AFAIK they contain hormones and meds. Mine get multi grains for free range birds, lots of greens and kitchen waste.”
I give mine layers pellets and they love them. They also get corn and maize too. Plus, they love any left over veggies and a bit of pastry never gets turned down either. One thing i do is put a corn on the cob in their pen tied up with string. They spend many a happy hour pecking the corn from it.
Originally Posted by Porcupine:
“I give mine layers pellets and they love them. They also get corn and maize too. Plus, they love any left over veggies and a bit of pastry never gets turned down either. One thing i do is put a corn on the cob in their pen tied up with string. They spend many a happy hour pecking the corn from it.”
“I give mine layers pellets and they love them. They also get corn and maize too. Plus, they love any left over veggies and a bit of pastry never gets turned down either. One thing i do is put a corn on the cob in their pen tied up with string. They spend many a happy hour pecking the corn from it.”
I have no doubt that they love them.
Originally Posted by missymorgan:
“I guess if they are from your own chickens then they are very fresh, fresh eggs will be hard to peel, don't know the science behind but they are.
ETA: Found the below which might explain it
With eggs that are just a day or two old, the membrane beneath the shell sticks tightly to the shell making peeling the egg almost impossible. After a few days in the refrigerator the egg becomes easier to peel. Why is this? In fresh eggs the albumen sticks to the inner shell membrane more strongly than it sticks to itself because of the more acidic environment of the egg. The white of a freshly laid egg has a pH between 7.6 and 7.9 and an opalescent (cloudy) appearance due to the presence of carbon dioxide. After the protective coat is washed off the egg shell the egg becomes porous and begins to absorb air and loose some carbon dioxide contained in the albumen. This reduces the acidity of the egg which causes (after several days in the refrigerator) the pH to increase to around 9.2. At higher pH the inner membrane does not stick as much to the albumen so the shell peels off easier. In addition, as the egg gets older it will shrink and the air space between the egg shell and the membrane will get larger.”
“I guess if they are from your own chickens then they are very fresh, fresh eggs will be hard to peel, don't know the science behind but they are.
ETA: Found the below which might explain it
With eggs that are just a day or two old, the membrane beneath the shell sticks tightly to the shell making peeling the egg almost impossible. After a few days in the refrigerator the egg becomes easier to peel. Why is this? In fresh eggs the albumen sticks to the inner shell membrane more strongly than it sticks to itself because of the more acidic environment of the egg. The white of a freshly laid egg has a pH between 7.6 and 7.9 and an opalescent (cloudy) appearance due to the presence of carbon dioxide. After the protective coat is washed off the egg shell the egg becomes porous and begins to absorb air and loose some carbon dioxide contained in the albumen. This reduces the acidity of the egg which causes (after several days in the refrigerator) the pH to increase to around 9.2. At higher pH the inner membrane does not stick as much to the albumen so the shell peels off easier. In addition, as the egg gets older it will shrink and the air space between the egg shell and the membrane will get larger.”
I have always kept my eggs in the fridge but it's only in the last couple of years that the shell hasn't come off cleanly. When I peel the egg now I lose half the white with it sticking to the shell so I only end up with half an egg.
