All Eggs In One Basket

Yes, my eggs are in one basket... and "they" say to NEVER put all your eggs in one basket. But I like to "live on the edge"... LOL.Now they're all on the counter. Well okay, I admit it... there are lots more eggs in the fridge so these are not all my eggs. But they are all from one day. The big brown eggs are from my brown hens, the green eggs are from the Americana x Sex Link hens, and the little tan eggs are from my Bantam hens. I don't really know what to call them as they are not white eggs, but yet they are not brown eggs, so for now tan or cream will have to do.

The Bantams give me small and medium sized eggs while the Americana x give mostly large and extra large with the odd medium or jumbo thrown in. The brown hens (I wish I knew their breed) give large, extra large and Jumbo. I weigh each egg to find out what size it is, according to information I found on the internet, and box them accordingly. I then take them to my church and sell them, most people prefer buying the larger sizes, and often give some to my mom and one sister that lives in the area (usually the smaller ones that don't sell as well). I also of course eat them myself (small) and feed many to my dog. Any that are cracked or getting too old to sell go to the dog. She loves raw eggs on her dog food and her coat is really shiny.

One thing I find interesting... the big brown eggs from the big brown hens have very thin shells. They are thicker now than when I first bought the 2 year old hens at the auction this spring, but they are still thinner than they should be. I've given them oyster shell and I feed back any egg shells I have or Mom saves, so think this helps, but obviously not enough. The shells from the Bantams and the Americana x are all nice and thick. You really have to smack them to break them, where as the brown shells are often cracked (even on the ends) while still in the nest box, or can fall apart in my hand while I'm gently washing them. Any one have any ideas how to thicken up these shells? I must admit I am thinking maybe I should add 7 big brown hens to the freezer before the weather gets any more like winter, so too cold out there to butcher.