- Thread starter
- #21
Found in PooBoard This Morning **GRAPHIC PICS**
- Thread starter LittleBits
- Start date
I just give it orally and massage it down into their crop.
-Kathy
-Kathy
- Thread starter
- #23
I also posted about pecking problems here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/786167/bare-backs-and-bums and here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/774218/pick-pick-pick There are some good answers to this solution as well from other BYC members!
- Apr 29, 2013
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Yes, I think too it is just a very soft shelled egg... as I am a newbie I am not sure if there is a name for this but I found one of these in one of my nest boxes once and have not seen it again... not sure if this is just something that can happen randomly or if there is a reason behind it??? Since my girls have been laying normally since I have not worried about it.
Good luck!
Agree with homesteadgirl. It's a good investment. Cameras recording in the coops and yards etc is something I intend to always have running, what a handy livestock management tool! You never know what you needed to know until you know it. 
And everyone hates mystery deaths and other such...
Quote: The physiological process of laying an egg causes sensations and hormonal changes that lets them know quite thoroughly. Have you ever been present and watched them actually lay the eggs? It's not nothing to them! They choose the nest instead of dropping it in the yard because it is a vulnerable moment and they are temporarily incapacitated. Even hens laying for the first time, wind eggs, some with yolks (even though they are only a centimeter long), put them in the nests too. Strange that a hen who's never laid before would go to the nest to deposit something smaller than most of her poops... Unless she felt quite differently about it.
The exception to this rule is almost always a sick or distressed hen. It takes only a minor amount of instinct to get a hen to lay in the nest, she doesn't have to have enough instinct to be a broody to still choose to lay in the nest. If she won't even take the precaution of hiding in a safe nest to lay she's really not feeling well; another factor is that there is often some competition over nest boxes, and if she can't lay quickly due to the soft shell taking longer to come out, she'll be beaten off the nest. This used to happen to my horse-stomped hen. Once her shells hardened again she took her rightful turn in the nest.
Quote: My horse stomped hen began to lay at night. She'd drop them from the perch. Before that she used to try to lay in the nest. The hen that's not roosting is most likely the one who's laying the softies. Generally if a chicken suddenly stops roosting it's a good indicator of something being pretty wrong with it. When they take to the nest it's generally a sign of either injury or wasting. Are you sure she's eating well enough? Did she feel thin or light at all?
And everyone hates mystery deaths and other such...Quote: The physiological process of laying an egg causes sensations and hormonal changes that lets them know quite thoroughly. Have you ever been present and watched them actually lay the eggs? It's not nothing to them! They choose the nest instead of dropping it in the yard because it is a vulnerable moment and they are temporarily incapacitated. Even hens laying for the first time, wind eggs, some with yolks (even though they are only a centimeter long), put them in the nests too. Strange that a hen who's never laid before would go to the nest to deposit something smaller than most of her poops... Unless she felt quite differently about it.
The exception to this rule is almost always a sick or distressed hen. It takes only a minor amount of instinct to get a hen to lay in the nest, she doesn't have to have enough instinct to be a broody to still choose to lay in the nest. If she won't even take the precaution of hiding in a safe nest to lay she's really not feeling well; another factor is that there is often some competition over nest boxes, and if she can't lay quickly due to the soft shell taking longer to come out, she'll be beaten off the nest. This used to happen to my horse-stomped hen. Once her shells hardened again she took her rightful turn in the nest.
Quote: My horse stomped hen began to lay at night. She'd drop them from the perch. Before that she used to try to lay in the nest. The hen that's not roosting is most likely the one who's laying the softies. Generally if a chicken suddenly stops roosting it's a good indicator of something being pretty wrong with it. When they take to the nest it's generally a sign of either injury or wasting. Are you sure she's eating well enough? Did she feel thin or light at all?
Soft-shell or Misshapen Eggs
Common Egg Problems are:
Also potentially of interest:
Thin-shelled, soft-shelled, no-shell, porous, misshaped / deformed eggs and other egg shell irregularities can occur due to a variety of factors.
Environmental Issues:
Malnutrition / Nutritional Deficiencies
Infectious Diseases
Infectious Bronchitis (IBV):
Infectious laryngotracheiti (ILT)
Abnormal Shell Texture
Abnormal Egg Shell Color:
Abnormal Yolks / Egg-white:
Common Egg Problems are:
- No Eggs or Clear / Infertile Eggs (Infertility / Poor Hatch Rate)
- Egg Binding (Unable to Pass an Egg)
- Thin-shelled, soft-shelled, no-shell, porous, misshaped / deformed eggs ... Infectious Diseases Associated with Egg Problems
- Abnormal Shell Texture ... Abnormal Egg Color
- Abnormal Egg Yolks / Egg White, Double-yolk Eggs
Also potentially of interest:
- Dead-in-Shell / Embryo Mortality ... Embryo Development (explains what happens inside the developing egg) ... Glossary ... Photo Series: From Egg to Parrot - Amazing series of photos of candled eggs - from Day 1 through Hatching
Situations where a sudden drop in egg production occurs are most likely to be infectious. In the absence of obvious signs of disease (sudden change in egg laying / obvious disease symptoms, such as respiratory, loss of weight, etc.), potential environmental and dietary issues should be explored and, once identified, remedied.
The most common cause of soft / no-egg shell eggs is dietary or environmental ...
A loss of egg production or the possibility of egg abnormalities also increase with age.
The most common cause of soft / no-egg shell eggs is dietary or environmental ...
A loss of egg production or the possibility of egg abnormalities also increase with age.
- Abnormal Heat / Humidity Levels:
- Excessive heat - exposure to temperatures over 85-90°F (29 - 32° Centigrade)
- Extreme low or high humidity levels
- Parasites: skin parasites or internal worms
- Toxins in the environment (i.e., mold / fungi, bacteria, etc.)
- Stress: Minimize noise and disturbance around brooding hens, as this could prompt them to lay eggs early before they are fully formed.
- Molting while egg-laying
- Abnormal Heat / Humidity Levels:
Malnutrition / Nutritional Deficiencies
The eggshell is a protective layer for the embryo. 95% of the shell consists of calcium carbonate that builds up on the inner membrane.
Deficiencies involving vitamins E, B12, and D as well as calcium, phosphorus, selenium impact the formation of the egg shell; most commonly resulting in thin or soft shells or eggs without a shell (only the inner and outer membranes and the yolk).
Remedying Nutritionally Deficiencies: Supplementing the hen's diet with ground eggshells, ground limestone, limestone flour or oyster shells (offered separately, or sprinkled over or mixed in with the chicken's feed) - in combination with exposure to natural sunlight or supplementation with Vitamin D3 (NOT Vitamin D2) - are effective ways of boosting calcium levels, thereby effectively preventing or remedying eggshell abnormalities caused by calcium deficiency.
Risks Associated with Thin/Soft-shell Eggs: One of the big risks of soft-shelled eggs that they can easily burst on exit and become retained resulting in internal infections and often in death of the hens.
Deficiencies involving vitamins E, B12, and D as well as calcium, phosphorus, selenium impact the formation of the egg shell; most commonly resulting in thin or soft shells or eggs without a shell (only the inner and outer membranes and the yolk).
If applicable, decrease or discontinue treats that reduce the percentage of calcium that the chicken derives from its diet. (The higher the percentage of low-nutritional-value treats a bird gets directly impacts the quality of its overall nutrition.)
Grit is sometimes provided in the mistaken belief that it contains calcium - it does not and, therefore, has no effect on egg quality.
Note:
Vitamin D3 is required for calcium absorption and utilization; if a hen is deficient in Vitamin D, this can also impede the formation of the shell.Grit is sometimes provided in the mistaken belief that it contains calcium - it does not and, therefore, has no effect on egg quality.
Note:
EXCESSIVE consumption of phosphorus or calcium is likely to result in eggs that with an abnormally thick shelled or have rough shells.
Inherited / metabolic conditions may inhibit the absorption of nutrients resulting in malnutrition in spite of adequate dietary provision.
Inherited / metabolic conditions may inhibit the absorption of nutrients resulting in malnutrition in spite of adequate dietary provision.
Risks Associated with Thin/Soft-shell Eggs: One of the big risks of soft-shelled eggs that they can easily burst on exit and become retained resulting in internal infections and often in death of the hens.
Infectious Diseases
Infectious Bronchitis (IBV):
This common infectious disease only affects chickens of all ages and is caused by Coronavirus. It targets the respiratory tract, as well as the reproductive organs and the urinary system.
IBV is the most contagious poultry disease; once introduced into a flock, the infection rate is 100%. Therefore, if some hens are unaffected, this disease can be excluded.
Infectious Bronchitis is suspected if no other environmental reason can be identified, and the hens have previously produced well, and then all of a sudden started laying poor quality eggs.
This disease may affect both the external and internal quality of the eggs, which can be misshapen or soft-shelled. In those eggs that have a shell, the egg white inside the egg is runny.
Initially, respiratory symptoms are typically (but not always) noted and generally the egg production decreases and the egg quality deteriorates over time.
There is no effective treatment against this, although birds often recover, they may never be good egg layers and the eggs they do lay may never be of a good quality again.
The spread of this disease can only be stopped by quarantining infected birds and sanitizing / disinfecting the premises. A vaccination is available (Nobilis by Merck), but vaccination is not always effective in preventing the disease.
Rarely proves fatal; however, increases the hens' susceptibility to other pathogens, such as e-coli or mycoplasma infections.
Those that recovered from this disease will be immune to further exposure, but may never lay well again due to damage to the uterus/shell gland.
To a lesser extent, the following infectious diseases are possibilities ...IBV is the most contagious poultry disease; once introduced into a flock, the infection rate is 100%. Therefore, if some hens are unaffected, this disease can be excluded.
Infectious Bronchitis is suspected if no other environmental reason can be identified, and the hens have previously produced well, and then all of a sudden started laying poor quality eggs.
This disease may affect both the external and internal quality of the eggs, which can be misshapen or soft-shelled. In those eggs that have a shell, the egg white inside the egg is runny.
Initially, respiratory symptoms are typically (but not always) noted and generally the egg production decreases and the egg quality deteriorates over time.
There is no effective treatment against this, although birds often recover, they may never be good egg layers and the eggs they do lay may never be of a good quality again.
The spread of this disease can only be stopped by quarantining infected birds and sanitizing / disinfecting the premises. A vaccination is available (Nobilis by Merck), but vaccination is not always effective in preventing the disease.
Rarely proves fatal; however, increases the hens' susceptibility to other pathogens, such as e-coli or mycoplasma infections.
Those that recovered from this disease will be immune to further exposure, but may never lay well again due to damage to the uterus/shell gland.
Infectious laryngotracheiti (ILT)
This herpes virus causes respiratory symptoms in chickens. It is a reportable disease in several U.S. states. Infected chickens become life-long carriers and shed the virus during times of stress. Infected birds may show the following symptoms: wet irritated eyes, sneezing, nasal discharge, failure to thrive, stunted growth, and decreased egg production. As this disease progresses, birds may experience difficulty breathing, a bloody discharge from the nose and mouth can be noted. They may cough and expel bloody mucus. Birds typically shake their heads to clear the mucus from their noses and mouths, which results in blood stained mucus on the feathers. Symptoms may clear up; however, once infected, chickens become life-long carriers of ILT and can shed the virus during times of stress.
This virus is susceptible to sunlight and common disinfectants.
Egg drop syndrome (EDS)This virus is susceptible to sunlight and common disinfectants.
The natural host for this viral disease occurs is water fowl, such as ducks, geese, coots and grebes. Antibodies have also been recorded in herring gulls, owls, storks, swans, guinea fowl and pigeons. In the 1970s, the causative virus - duck adenovirus A - spread to chickens and quails, and is likely attributed to a contaminated Marek's disease vaccine.
This disease mostly occurs in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America; and has not been identified yet in the United States or Canada.
One of the main symptoms of this disease is that apparently healthy birds produce soft-shelled and shell-less eggs.
There is no treatment. This disease can best be prevented by separating chickens from other birds (particularly water fowl); quarantining infected birds and sanitizing the environment. A vaccine is available and typically given during the growing phase, when the birds are 14 - 18 weeks old.
OchratoxicosisThis disease mostly occurs in Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America; and has not been identified yet in the United States or Canada.
One of the main symptoms of this disease is that apparently healthy birds produce soft-shelled and shell-less eggs.
There is no treatment. This disease can best be prevented by separating chickens from other birds (particularly water fowl); quarantining infected birds and sanitizing the environment. A vaccine is available and typically given during the growing phase, when the birds are 14 - 18 weeks old.
Caused by feeding grain (in many instances corn, but also wheat and barley) contaminated with ochratoxin produced by Aspergillus ochraceous or Penicillium viridicatum (fungi).
Symptoms include poor growth rate diarrhea, reduced pigmentation, soiled eggs, reduced egg production, poor egg shell quality, kidney disease, fertility, tremors, hypotension, slow heart rate (bradycardia), chronic respiratory disease, decreased feed consumption, and, if untreated / unresolved, death.
The clinical signs can be helpful, but definitive diagnosis is from feed analysis for the presence of toxin.
The solution would be to supply uncontaminated feed (without any mold) and ingredients; sanitizing the feed and ingredient handling tools and equipment; and potentially adding antifungal agents to the feed. Drought, insect damage to the grain, and long storage time of the feed is shown to increase susceptibility to fungal growth.
Avian Influenza (Bird Flu)Symptoms include poor growth rate diarrhea, reduced pigmentation, soiled eggs, reduced egg production, poor egg shell quality, kidney disease, fertility, tremors, hypotension, slow heart rate (bradycardia), chronic respiratory disease, decreased feed consumption, and, if untreated / unresolved, death.
The clinical signs can be helpful, but definitive diagnosis is from feed analysis for the presence of toxin.
The solution would be to supply uncontaminated feed (without any mold) and ingredients; sanitizing the feed and ingredient handling tools and equipment; and potentially adding antifungal agents to the feed. Drought, insect damage to the grain, and long storage time of the feed is shown to increase susceptibility to fungal growth.
Abnormal Shell Texture
Rough Egg Shell or Abnormal Shell Texture can be a result of:
- Dietary:
- excess calcium consumption by the hens
- copper deficiency
- Excessive use of antibiotics
- Infectious diseases, such as Newcastle disease or infectious bronchitis
- Inheritance
Abnormal Egg Shell Color:
Yellow Egg Shell: Indicative of high levels of certain antibiotics administered over extended periods
Depigmentation (loss of pigment) of the brown egg shell can be a sign of Infectious Bronchitis, Egg Drop Syndrome (scroll up for information) or high stress levels amongst the brooding hens.
Speckled Egg Shell or Spots inside the Egg
Depigmentation (loss of pigment) of the brown egg shell can be a sign of Infectious Bronchitis, Egg Drop Syndrome (scroll up for information) or high stress levels amongst the brooding hens.
Speckled Egg Shell or Spots inside the Egg
Speckled / mottled egg shells can be caused by a Manganese deficiency or high or low extremes in environmental humidity.
Mottled yolks can be caused by anticoccidial drugs (Nicarbazin), worming compounds (citrate, piperazine, phenothiazine or dibutylin dilaurate); calcium deficiency, cottonseed meal (Gossypol), Tannic acid, and increased storage time of the eggs.
White yolks: Can be caused by capillary worms or other unknown disease condition. Can also be affected by diet
Olive or Salmon-colored Yolks: Caused by a diet with a high percentage (5%+) of cottonseed meal containing gossypol or cyclopropene fatty acids.
Double-yolk eggs occur when ovulation occurs too rapidly or when one yolk becomes joined with another yolk. This is most commonly seen in young hens that have not reached reproductive maturity yet and have unsynchronized reproductive cycles.
Yolkless eggs (also known as "dwarf" or "wind" eggs): Most commonly occurs in young hens that lay eggs before their laying mechanism is fully matured. In mature hens, this could be indicative of pieces of reproductive tissue breaking away, stimulating the egg producing glands to treat these pieces of reproductive tissues like yolks, wrapping each in albumen, membranes and a shell as they travel through the egg tube.
Blood spots inside the egg can be genetic, as well as being caused by sudden environmental temperature changes. The incidence of blood spots inside the egg also increases with age. Rarely a deficiency in vitamin K or vitamin A Sulfaquinoxaline can be the cause.
White yolks: Can be caused by capillary worms or other unknown disease condition. Can also be affected by diet
Olive or Salmon-colored Yolks: Caused by a diet with a high percentage (5%+) of cottonseed meal containing gossypol or cyclopropene fatty acids.
Double-yolk eggs occur when ovulation occurs too rapidly or when one yolk becomes joined with another yolk. This is most commonly seen in young hens that have not reached reproductive maturity yet and have unsynchronized reproductive cycles.
Yolkless eggs (also known as "dwarf" or "wind" eggs): Most commonly occurs in young hens that lay eggs before their laying mechanism is fully matured. In mature hens, this could be indicative of pieces of reproductive tissue breaking away, stimulating the egg producing glands to treat these pieces of reproductive tissues like yolks, wrapping each in albumen, membranes and a shell as they travel through the egg tube.
Blood spots inside the egg can be genetic, as well as being caused by sudden environmental temperature changes. The incidence of blood spots inside the egg also increases with age. Rarely a deficiency in vitamin K or vitamin A Sulfaquinoxaline can be the cause.
- Thread starter
- #27
I've not seen the "powder". Seems places around here don't stock much variety for chickens. Even TSC or SS. Kentucky is all about horses! Right now they are seeming to eat around the oyster shell. Where do you get yours? Guess I could grind it up in the blender...? Did that with "cracked corn" once that wasn't cracked at the place I got it - made a wonderful mess in the kitchen! lol I do put the oyster shell in their food, but just not the powder kind.
Last edited:
I would worry about giving too much calcium on a regular basis as more than 3% can cause gout in poultry.
-Kathy
-Kathy
- Thread starter
- #29
Quote: The physiological process of laying an egg causes sensations and hormonal changes that lets them know quite thoroughly. Have you ever been present and watched them actually lay the eggs? It's not nothing to them! They choose the nest instead of dropping it in the yard because it is a vulnerable moment and they are temporarily incapacitated. Even hens laying for the first time, wind eggs, some with yolks (even though they are only a centimeter long), put them in the nests too. Strange that a hen who's never laid before would go to the nest to deposit something smaller than most of her poops... Unless she felt quite differently about it.
The exception to this rule is almost always a sick or distressed hen. It takes only a minor amount of instinct to get a hen to lay in the nest, she doesn't have to have enough instinct to be a broody to still choose to lay in the nest. If she won't even take the precaution of hiding in a safe nest to lay she's really not feeling well; another factor is that there is often some competition over nest boxes, and if she can't lay quickly due to the soft shell taking longer to come out, she'll be beaten off the nest. This used to happen to my horse-stomped hen. Once her shells hardened again she took her rightful turn in the nest.
Very interesting and thank you! I have 4 nesting boxes and 15 hens. No, I've never seen one actually lay an egg; can't seem to time my entrances just right.
Quote:
My horse stomped hen began to lay at night. She'd drop them from the perch. Before that she used to try to lay in the nest. The hen that's not roosting is most likely the one who's laying the softies. Generally if a chicken suddenly stops roosting it's a good indicator of something being pretty wrong with it. When they take to the nest it's generally a sign of either injury or wasting. Are you sure she's eating well enough? Did she feel thin or light at all?
The nights that I put her on the roost, she settled there quickly, but no idea if she stayed there all night. She is VERY light - I would go so far as to call her skinny - and is also one of the few that has all her feathers on back and bum - so I feel she's not getting picked on. I was actually surprised at how light she was compared to the other hens. She acts normal in every other way.
The exception to this rule is almost always a sick or distressed hen. It takes only a minor amount of instinct to get a hen to lay in the nest, she doesn't have to have enough instinct to be a broody to still choose to lay in the nest. If she won't even take the precaution of hiding in a safe nest to lay she's really not feeling well; another factor is that there is often some competition over nest boxes, and if she can't lay quickly due to the soft shell taking longer to come out, she'll be beaten off the nest. This used to happen to my horse-stomped hen. Once her shells hardened again she took her rightful turn in the nest.
Very interesting and thank you! I have 4 nesting boxes and 15 hens. No, I've never seen one actually lay an egg; can't seem to time my entrances just right.
Quote:
My horse stomped hen began to lay at night. She'd drop them from the perch. Before that she used to try to lay in the nest. The hen that's not roosting is most likely the one who's laying the softies. Generally if a chicken suddenly stops roosting it's a good indicator of something being pretty wrong with it. When they take to the nest it's generally a sign of either injury or wasting. Are you sure she's eating well enough? Did she feel thin or light at all?
The nights that I put her on the roost, she settled there quickly, but no idea if she stayed there all night. She is VERY light - I would go so far as to call her skinny - and is also one of the few that has all her feathers on back and bum - so I feel she's not getting picked on. I was actually surprised at how light she was compared to the other hens. She acts normal in every other way.
- Thread starter
- #30
casportpony: THANK YOU for that post - it has a wealth of information and I will be sorting through it.
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