Home Chicken Eggs Bothering My Stomach

This is my first season raising chickens and I started getting eggs about 2 months ago. I quit eating eggs from the store, but I’ve been getting indigestion lately. I’m starting to think it’s the eggs from my chickens. I’ve never had problems with eggs, until now. Im wondering if it’s from the feed.

I buy them Purina 16% Layer feed and I wondering if there is something in it or that it’s not good feed. I have problems with wheat, so I’m wondering if that was the problem. However, the contents are just listed as grains. Anyone have this experience?

Our chicken feed is high in wheat, but we get ours locally.

A lot of wheat is raised with toxic gick, so you could try buying a certified organic feed and supplement with other certified organic foods and see if it makes a difference.

We also have  a bunch of customers who've become allergic to eggs and now buy our duck eggs. Our ducks get similar feed, but the fats and proteins in the eggs are different.

How many chickens are we talking about - it's one thing to find enough food for 5-10 chickens. Another thing entirely to try to home feed 100 chickens! There are people who do so, but it's just a much larger commitment.

My ex had this problem and had to go off chicken eggs for a while. We discovered that if we stuck to whole grain feed mixes from certain suppliers that she didn't have trouble and finally decided it might have been the maize that some mills were using.

What a fascinating issue?
from reading the responces feed seems to be the issue, I will watch with interest.

From Quora
"Salmonella: One of the primary concerns with backyard eggs is the risk of Salmonella contamination.
Chickens can carry Salmonella bacteria, which can be transmitted to the eggs.
To reduce this risk:
- Ensure chickens are healthy and vaccinated if possible.
- Collect eggs frequently and store them properly.
- Wash hands and surfaces after handling eggs.

Egg Quality: Backyard chickens may not always lay eggs that meet commercial quality standards.
Factors like diet, stress, and environmental conditions can affect egg quality.
Ensure that chickens are fed a balanced diet and kept in a clean, stress-free environment."

Also issues like dirty straw and mud everywhere can be an issue.

John C Daley wrote:From Quora
"Salmonella: One of the primary concerns with backyard eggs is the risk of Salmonella contamination.
Chickens can carry Salmonella bacteria, which can be transmitted to the eggs...

My impression in my area is that one is more likely to get salmonella from industrial eggs than back yard eggs, so long as the chickens are well looked after.

We've been selling eggs for at least 2 decades and have never had a buyer suggest that they got salmonella from our eggs.

That said, if someone was getting sick from eating eggs from a source, Salmonella would certainly be something to look into.

Why not get off the chicken feed bandwagon and start going with sprouts and microgreens?

It sounds like changing your chicken feed may be a good thing to try....If you take up Anne's suggestion about sprouts and microgreens, you may also want to look into how much feed you can grow yourself for your hens. This thread has some suggestions of plants and fruit that other permies chickens have enjoyed - I hear they also love scratching your compost around to look for insects and worms to supplement their protein requirements.

Phil Stevens wrote:My ex had this problem and had to go off chicken eggs for a while. We discovered that if we stuck to whole grain feed mixes from certain suppliers that she didn't have trouble and finally decided it might have been the maize that some mills were using.

Maize has never been a problem for me, but wheat has, but one thing I forgot is sometimes soy bothers me.

John C Daley wrote:From Quora
"Salmonella: One of the primary concerns with backyard eggs is the risk of Salmonella contamination.
Chickens can carry Salmonella bacteria, which can be transmitted to the eggs.
To reduce this risk:
- Ensure chickens are healthy and vaccinated if possible.
- Collect eggs frequently and store them properly.
- Wash hands and surfaces after handling eggs.

Egg Quality: Backyard chickens may not always lay eggs that meet commercial quality standards.
Factors like diet, stress, and environmental conditions can affect egg quality.
Ensure that chickens are fed a balanced diet and kept in a clean, stress-free environment."

Also issues like dirty straw and mud everywhere can be an issue.

I feel like I’m pretty good about changing their bedding. I also rinse the eggs throughly before cooking, always wash my hands, and I over cook the eggs. But there could be other
possibilities I’m overlooking. How often does one change the bedding.

It seems most likely to be a response to the grain in the chicken feed, especially as you know you react to soy and wheat. I would be surprised if the feed didn't include wheat gluten and possibly soy as well to up the protein content. Changing their feed to something either homemade or with a proper ingredients list so you know what the hens are getting is probably the best thing you can try. Some chicken keepers here have also commented in the past about fermenting the feed being helpful.

If it was an infection like Salmonella, I'd expect you to be a lot sicker.