Can a chicken lay just an yolk?

[ChristieDB]

Hi there! We have six hennys. We are first time chicken keepers and our girls are just now hitting laying age. Saturday we had an egg (did the happy dance)and then Sunday we had another egg. I think only one of my RIRs is laying... But no eggs since Sunday (is that weird?)

Today my husband came in from giving them a frozen treat and he said something weird is happening out there... He said there is a spot in one of the nesting boxes that is very Yellow . I went out to investigate for myself, sure enough there is a little spot where it looks like yellow yolk in the middle of a nesting box. I moved it around and even smelled (I know I am officially a crazy chicken lady) and it had no real smell. No signs of an egg or any other disturbance. I checked the two hennys that I believe to be laying and one of the RIRs did have a little white stuff on her floofy floof but no other distressing things popped out at me. Her vent looks perfect. Sooooo..... Are we crazy? Is this a thing? Can they lay just a yolk no shell?

 

[sourland]

Sometimes, especially at the start or end of a laying cycle, they can lay soft shelled or 'incomplete' eggs. Generally it corrects shortly. Are they on a laying feed or are you supplying oyster shell on the side ? Not a 'crazy chicken lady' - that's a normal action.

 

[Lazy Farmer]

Hi there! We have six hennys. We are first time chicken keepers and our girls are just now hitting laying age. Saturday we had an egg (did the happy dance)and then Sunday we had another egg. I think only one of my RIRs is laying... But no eggs since Sunday (is that weird?)

This is a link to an eggcellent article. You should bookmark it for future reference like I have.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/#comment-504683

 

[aart]

I went out to investigate for myself, sure enough there is a little spot where it looks like yellow yolk in the middle of a nesting box. I moved it around and even smelled (I know I am officially a crazy chicken lady) and it had no real smell.

If you don't clean up the messy bedding, it will smell after a day or two.

Probably a soft or thin shelled egg that was easily broken and thus fair game for eating.
They will eat most of it only leaving a 'wet spot'.

I put pieces vinyl flooring on the bottom of nests for easy cleaning after having a serial thin shell layer...have an extra piece to swap out for a quick cleanup.