Strange egg - thoughts on causes?

Date sort Score sort
zenhen165

zenhen165

Hatching
May 21, 2016
5
2
9



My Buff Orp laid this strange egg today. She's about 3 years old and has been laying shell-less/membrane covered eggs occasionally for the past year, but mostly not laying much at all. This is the first egg she's laid in 3 months and the first ever with an umbilical cord attached. She appears to be otherwise healthy. Any ideas on what may be causing this problem or possible solutions would be greatly appreciated!
 
Welcome To BYC

The first article explains the tail a bit better than I can.

Since she is older, she may not be processing calcium as efficiently as she should. You can try offering oyster shell free choice and giving fresh veggies that have a high calcium content (fresh greens). Also offer some additional poultry vitamins to the water for a couple of days a week or direct dose her with something like Poultry Nutri-Drench.

Sometimes the reproductive system just starts to break down and no matter what you try, soft shell eggs and "glitch eggs" seem to happen.


http://www.yellowbirchhobbyfarm.com/weird-eggs-101-the-oddities-explained/
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems
 
If she's laying shelless eggs when she lays an egg, as WR says, it's highly likely she has a calcium deficiency.

I have a couple of very old hens, aged seven years, who insisted on laying regularly last season. However, I was wishing they would stop since every egg was shelless. Then I learned that you can give hens like ours people calcium, Caltrate or the store brand. This formula has calcium and the correct minerals to help a hen absorb the calcium.

The dose is one half a tablet each day until she lays solid-shell eggs. Going beyond that could start damaging the kidneys, can cause brittle bones, and may interfere with the ability to pass the egg easily, so it's important not to overdo it. This calcium therapy is strictly for hens who are laying soft shelled eggs, not layers who are laying normal eggs, and it does not replace oyster shell as the best way for layers to get calcium. I cut the half tab in half again so it's easy to swallow and I embed the pieces in a dab of peanut butter.

I gave the calcium at night as the hens roosted, (night is when the shell gland does its work) and they came to expect their "treat" and lined up at the door for it. It worked wonders. Their eggs were nice and hard, and I was able to sell them instead of feeding them back to the flock.
 
Last edited:
Thanks so much for the response. Very informative! Calcium deficiency appears to be the culprit. A few months ago I added a couple of pullets to the flock and therefore switched from a Layer feed to a multi-flock with oyster shell available in a separate container. Looking forward to getting back to the Layer feed soon - but will try the improve the calcium intake for my hen in the interim with the tips you suggested. Thanks again!
 

Similar threads

Blessed092001
    • Wow
Hen laid egg with strange solidified yolk
Replies
6
Views
646
Sally PB
S
E
Black marans stopped laying early
Replies
3
Views
285
rosemarythyme
rosemarythyme
S
Soft shell egg and high calcium egg in one day
Replies
3
Views
262
sakerobot
S
balletchickenmom
Very Strange Egg-First Egg (I think) of 2-3ish year Old Copper Maran + Other Egg Color Questions!
Replies
2
Views
618
balletchickenmom
balletchickenmom
MountainMomma359
Crowing and odd eggs
Replies
6
Views
312
MountainMomma359
MountainMomma359

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom