By Lisa Steele

ELENA SHASHKINA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Q. I’m new to raising chickens, and they have just started to lay eggs. I have noticed that the egg whites are thicker than I’m used to; some even seem jellylike. Is this normal? Also, they’re cloudy-looking, not clear. What is going on? Should I be concerned? I have never had a store-bought egg white look cloudy.

A. Yes, that’s completely normal. In fact, thick, cloudy egg whites are one of the signs of a fresh egg. As an egg ages, moisture and carbon dioxide are lost through the pores in the shell. That causes the white (or albumen) to become clear and get runny, spreading out in a frying pan instead of staying in one place.

You might also notice the yolks of your fresh eggs are compact and stand up high. They don’t break as easily when you crack them into a pan as an older egg yolk might. As an egg ages, the yolk sort of deflates and flattens out, breaks more easily and even begins to dry out once the egg has lost a considerable amount of moisture.