Strange egg! Concern or no?

Toshiko24

Songster
6 Years
Dec 26, 2013
66
41
106
Hurricane, Utah
So, my neighbor had a surgery and I'm taking care of her hens and when I went to feed and water them today I found what looks like it might be a shell less egg in their water bowl but it has a weird attachment on it. They hatched April 19 this year (2016) and was raised by my broody hen so they just started laying about a month or so ago. She did say that today was the first day she collected 5 eggs. She normally gets 3-4 eggs a day. She has 4 hens and poss 1 roo.

Should she be concerned about this?


-Toshiko24 ^_^
 
Nope, not really anything to worry about. Pullets new to laying pop out some odd eggs - soft shelled, no shells, large double yolkers. Another member posted a very similar picture just last week. It can take a while for all the components of their egg-laying machinery to get in sync.
 
Soft Shell egg. Is she molting? Try putting out some oyster shell in a separate dish. She might need some more protein if molting.
 
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Hi.
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Soft shelled eggs are normal for those coming into and exiting the lay cycle. That is a weird attachment. But as @CTKen stated, getting the system in sync can cause funky stuff. So I probably wouldn't be too concerned if nobody is acting strange.

A friends sex links sometimes lay 2 eggs in a single day. But they unfortunately leave a light on all the time.

What are you feeding? Is there Oyster shell available on the side? Even with oyster shell, my new layers usually have a softee.

If you have a pic, we could probably confirm gender on the suspected roo. What breeds are we talking about? I would still keep an eye out for any strange behavior.

Speedy recovery for your neighbor!
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It's kind that you are helping her out.
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Nope, not really anything to worry about. Pullets new to laying pop out some odd eggs - soft shelled, no shells, large double yolkers. Another member posted a very similar picture just last week. It can take a while for all the components of their egg-laying machinery to get in sync.
Ken nailed it.......probably a one off, not to worry unless it happens consistently.


Soft Shell egg. Is she molting? Try putting out some oyster shell in a separate dish. She might need some more protein if molting.
Bird is only about 6 months old and only been laying about a month...so molt is highly unlikely.
Oyster shell always availalbe in a separate dish is always a good idea tho.
 
TY all for the replies!

This is the hen that laid the egg.

Today when I went to feed I found another egg. It was very small, like bantam size but it did have a shell on it. She feeds them pellet food, calcium, grit, reg water and vitamin water so they have an option, and the occasional sliced up tomatoes from her garden. She said that this hen was the only one not laying yet so it was poss this hens first egg.

This is the suspected roo. (Same bird in background in first pic.)

I have seen some hens with large combs and this bird is not crowing but its got some bubbles on its legs that might be spurs growing in?
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Thnx again for the replies!

-Toshiko24
 
[COLOR=0000CD]TY all for the replies![/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]This is the hen that laid the egg.[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]Today when I went to feed I found another egg. It was very small, like bantam size but it did have a shell on it. She feeds them pellet food, calcium, grit, reg water and vitamin water so they have an option, and the occasional sliced up tomatoes from her garden. She said that this hen was the only one not laying yet so it was poss this hens first egg.[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]This is the suspected roo. (Same bird in background in first pic.)[/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]I have seen some hens with large combs and this bird is not crowing but its got some bubbles on its legs that might be spurs growing in? [/COLOR]:idunno [COLOR=0000CD]Thnx again for the replies![/COLOR] [COLOR=0000CD]-Toshiko24[/COLOR]
The photos are a little dark, but the suspected roo looks to me like it could be a Brown Leghorn pullet. I've had a BL rooster and several hens - if a BL, it's not a roo. My hens have similar coloring and very large, floppy (like over-the-eye floppy) combs...and one has fairly large spurs. My guess is you're seeing a pullet with spurs.
 
TY all for the replies!

This is the hen that laid the egg.

Today when I went to feed I found another egg. It was very small, like bantam size but it did have a shell on it. She feeds them pellet food, calcium, grit, reg water and vitamin water so they have an option, and the occasional sliced up tomatoes from her garden. She said that this hen was the only one not laying yet so it was poss this hens first egg.

This is the suspected roo. (Same bird in background in first pic.)

I have seen some hens with large combs and this bird is not crowing but its got some bubbles on its legs that might be spurs growing in?
idunno.gif


Thnx again for the replies!

-Toshiko24
There's really no reason to be giving 'vitamin water'.....and if there is, like the bird is ill or something, it needs to be mixed up fresh everyday.
The suspected 'roo' is a pullet/hen....looks like it could be brown leghorn.
All chickens have spur 'bumps'...some grow larger, even on females, and some do not.

Just read back and saw egg was laid in water bowl.
Wonder if nests are not being used at all and bowl was thought by bird to be a viable alternative.
Are there older birds in the enclosure?
Is it crowded? Crowding stress can cause some weird behaviors and funky eggs.

Or it could just be the vagaries of a new layer...they do some weird stuff and lay some funky eggs until the system smooths out...can take up to month or so and sometimes longer.
 
X 3, that second bird is a pullet. Like others already said some hens grow spurs and all have bumps. Some hens will even crow and some roos will egg song.
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ETA: my new layer softees are ALL over the place, never in the box. But solid eggs usually are in the box with the exception of if they found someone else's hidden nest. One of my girls moves her hiding spot every time I find it. Mostly they lay in the box except that 1.
 
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