Shell-less egg?

[Dolvera0214]

So I went to collect eggs and I found a puddle of what looks like egg whites and the 2 eggs that were there were intact just dirty with egg and yolk. Is this just an egg that got laid with no shell? I found no remnants of egg shell

 

[Dolvera0214]

Nevermind...I found the shell in the coop bedding right outside the nesting box. The shell is paper thin and I think it was a fairy egg too

 

[azygous]

As they say in the field of crime solving, there's inconclusive evidence to go on. When I find a wet spot with a little bit of gooey egg material, I make a note to keep an eye on the behavior of all the hens.

Sometimes a soft or thin shell egg is just a one-off and of no real concern. But it can signal the possibility a hen is releasing more than one yolk during a cycle and the soft one is the one that gets short shrift on shell building. This makes it more likely one of the two eggs making their way down the reproductive track during a 25 hour cycle will get stuck, or much worse, rupture.

Watch for a hen's behavior that is "off". She may be standing around, hunched over with her tail down low and flat. She could be exuding fluid from her vent. If you see those signs, you may have a medical emergency.

 

[Northern Flights]

Thanks for that azygous. I was just searching the forums for "no shell" and came upon this. Apologies to the op for leaping in like this. ..

I actually watched one of my hens pass a shell-less egg just a few minutes ago and did some checks. She's acting fine, eating, drinking -- but I'll still do the tums trick in a minute.

I've been adjusting coop lighting times to keep up with the rapidly shortening lod and have a strong suspicion that is the cause. She laid this am but her egg was a bit misshapen. I asked her what happened but she's clammed up! Blasted bird.

 

[azygous]

Thanks for that azygous. I was just searching the forums for "no shell" and came upon this. Apologies to the op for leaping in like this. ..

I actually watched one of my hens pass a shell-less egg just a few minutes ago and did some checks. She's acting fine, eating, drinking -- but I'll still do the tums trick in a minute.

I've been adjusting coop lighting times to keep up with the rapidly shortening lod and have a strong suspicion that is the cause. She laid this am but her egg was a bit misshapen. I asked her what happened but she's clammed up! Blasted bird.

And sometimes they take their secrets with them to the grave. Egg laying issues can have complex causes, which we can only resolve with trial and error sometimes.

Sometimes it's a failure to absorb calcium and that also has it's esoteric causes from shortening days and cloudy weather causing a shortage of vitamin D to deteriorating particle size of the oyster shell the hens have in their run.

 

[Northern Flights]

I've been considering a calcium/D supplement as they are ~18 months old and could probably use all the help they can get. They love a simple 18% layer mash and I'll sneak some in. But she got a tums an hour ago, so did the rest. They love them.

BTW, they're Bovans egg laying machines, with real feathers added.

Again cheers!

 

[Northern Flights]

Quick update: she skipped a day, but laid a football this morning. However her shells again seem oddly shaped (they always have been large and slightly misshapen) and are a bit brittle at the pointy end.

I've decided to grind some oyster shell into a basic 18% layer mash and feed it every 2 days for a week, then evaluate the eggs.

 

[azygous]

The problem with grinding up oyster shell is if you get the particles too small there is no real surface area to keep the particles in the chicken's digestive system long enough for absorption to take place. For this reason, I discard oyster shell when the particles become reduced to powder. At that size, they just aren't very effective.

Keep in mind that this is not to be confused with powdered calcium supplements formulated to be mixed into food or water the chicken is consuming. Instead of grinding up oyster shell, it would be better to buy the powdered calcium supplement if you want to increase her calcium intake.

 

[Northern Flights]

It's more out of expediency than anything else... and I copy the oyster shell size thingy. I dump more oyster shell than they consume, by far. They will not touch the powder. I didn't twig onto the oyster being cleared too fast. I have tons more rolaids looking for a gut, but do not like giving them those too often, due to the other ingredients. Maybe I'll try whole oyster flakes in a tasty sauce, with a beer chaser?

However the supplements shall be ordered in due course. I've seen many use an electrolyte, which is required by hens to metabolize calcium etc. I kinda assumed the commercial feed diet and water should provide enough, but...

Cheers

 

[Dolvera0214]

Thanks for that azygous. I was just searching the forums for "no shell" and came upon this. Apologies to the op for leaping in like this. ..

I actually watched one of my hens pass a shell-less egg just a few minutes ago and did some checks. She's acting fine, eating, drinking -- but I'll still do the tums trick in a minute.

I've been adjusting coop lighting times to keep up with the rapidly shortening lod and have a strong suspicion that is the cause. She laid this am but her egg was a bit misshapen. I asked her what happened but she's clammed up! Blasted bird.

What's the tums trick?