Thai Eggshell Thickness

[phaethon]

This seems to span Thai and Western Food and probably questions of animal welfare, so into General it goes...

Just curious about an observation I made comparing Thai (chicken) eggs with those of the UK - they seem to be much thicker than UK eggs, maybe twice as thick. UK eggs practically disintegrate when cracked and I sometimes have to spend time fishing fragments out of the whites, but Thai eggs break cleanly.

I wondered if anyone has come across an explanation for this - I know shell thickness can be genetically determined and also affected by diet, but has a specific explanation been arrived at?

[h90]

This seems to span Thai and Western Food and probably questions of animal welfare, so into General it goes...

Just curious about an observation I made comparing Thai (chicken) eggs with those of the UK - they seem to be much thicker than UK eggs, maybe twice as thick. UK eggs practically disintegrate when cracked and I sometimes have to spend time fishing fragments out of the whites, but Thai eggs break cleanly.

I wondered if anyone has come across an explanation for this - I know shell thickness can be genetically determined and also affected by diet, but has a specific explanation been arrived at?

thai chicken farms are terrible and a lot of medication is given. Maybe the use a lot byproducts of fish production making the calcium cheaper.

[sbk]

Chickens in the west are forced to produce eggs unnaturally, ie more than once a day. Lights are turned off to simulate nighttime and then turned back on to simulate a new day, thus chickens produce more eggs. Since they aren't given the natural amount of time to produce an egg, the shell comes out thinner than normal, as it hasn't had enough time to develop a proper thickness.

[Scott]

There are a lot of factors. First, the earlier part of the laying cycle of a hen usually has stronger shells than the later part. Secondly, the amount of calcium available and the factors that SBK mentioned.

The size of eggs depends on how long the chicken has been laying. The first year they are smaller, the second year they are larger and the 3rd year they are usually extra large. But as the chicken gets older, they lay fewer eggs, but those old ones sure make good soup!

[h90]

Chickens in the west are forced to produce eggs unnaturally, ie more than once a day. Lights are turned off to simulate nighttime and then turned back on to simulate a new day, thus chickens produce more eggs. Since they aren't given the natural amount of time to produce an egg, the shell comes out thinner than normal, as it hasn't had enough time to develop a proper thickness.

But what is different than in Thailand?

Do you know CP Food?

Recall what you say when there was the bird flue. The egg factories here are much worse than in the west.

(outside with natural chicken it is of course a complete different story)

[sbk]

Yes, but I don't know if they force the chickens to lay in as many cycles as in the west. hygiene may be worse but that doesn't necessarily equate with increased laying cycles.

[anon345535]

lol i had noticed i was breaking an abnormal amount of yolks when i was trying to do poached eggs.... i dunno if it's the yolk or the membrane inside but man you have to give em a right good ol whack and the margin for error seems very small

[loong]

If you buy eggs in the market instaed of the supermarket, you often find that the shells are so thinn that you can put your finger through it. As they are sold in bags, not boxes, usually have a few broken by the time you get them home.It's worse some times of the year, don't know why.

[phaethon]

lol i had noticed i was breaking an abnormal amount of yolks when i was trying to do poached eggs.... i dunno if it's the yolk or the membrane inside but man you have to give em a right good ol whack and the margin for error seems very small

That's what I noticed - the extra effort to crack them, but I usually scramble them, so broken yolks are not a problem.

Loong's point might suggest a feed mechanism, if one hypothesizes that Tesco's eggs come from well-fed, if battery, farmed chickens and the market's supplies are from smaller farms. Also I'm talking about brown eggs, are the ones at the market white by any chance?

[loong]

lol i had noticed i was breaking an abnormal amount of yolks when i was trying to do poached eggs.... i dunno if it's the yolk or the membrane inside but man you have to give em a right good ol whack and the margin for error seems very small

That's what I noticed - the extra effort to crack them, but I usually scramble them, so broken yolks are not a problem.

Loong's point might suggest a feed mechanism, if one hypothesizes that Tesco's eggs come from well-fed, if battery, farmed chickens and the market's supplies are from smaller farms. Also I'm talking about brown eggs, are the ones at the market white by any chance?

No, brown eggs, I don't think that I've ever seen a white egg at the market. The market eggs also taste much better than Tescos'. Obviously coming from small farms, sometimes the diet will lack enough calcium to form strong eggshells. Note, different stalls sell eggs from different suppliers, so not all are good.

Unfortunately we are now at the time of year when I buy my eggs at tescos again because of the heat and a lot of the market eggs are not always sold in sequence. Ie the new delivery is put on top of the old eggs.

I have one favourite place to buy eggs, but it's not their main business and demand outstrips their supply, so 2 out of 3 times they are sold out. When they do have them, I buy 30 at a time.

[bina]

red hens lay brown eggs, white layers have white eggs thats all the differrence....

and most outdoor chickens get enough calcium from eating disposed eggshells and stuff its the indoor chickens that have a calcium problem, but a professional chicken farm always supplies a mixed grit as part of feeding plan...

OP, if u want i could move this to the farming section for sure cause someone there can give good professional answer from maizefarmer or someone there.... ITS ACTUALLY A GOOD QUESTION.... and i will check with our chicken maven after our holidays next week....

bina

israel

[loong]

and most outdoor chickens get enough calcium from eating disposed eggshells and stuff its the indoor chickens that have a calcium problem, but a professional chicken farm always supplies a mixed grit as part of feeding plan

If the eggs are collected and sold, there are not so many eggshells for the chickens to eat

[bina]

up country thai throw kitchen garbage outside and the chickens eat the stuff ; its the chicken house chickens that have problems...

bina

[thithi]

are chicken eggshells in the west white and thin?

or they're the same color as the thai ones?

in here the white ones are supposed to be duck's.

[h90]

Yes, but I don't know if they force the chickens to lay in as many cycles as in the west. hygiene may be worse but that doesn't necessarily equate with increased laying cycles.

not only the hygiene, the space per chicken is smaller as there are no laws and most probably the medication is heavier.

I only saw it on TV. If I recall in Europe these boxes are not allowed anymore in many countries