A question about eggs laid with holes already in them.

[Bens-Hens]

Hi team,

I friend of our family has a couple of chickens, a Highline (brown layer very similar you Isa Brown) and a little banty cross.

The Highline hen is about 3 years old. Our friend asked me why she would be laying odd eggs, I could not give an answer so I thought to ask here. I first posted in the 'weird egg' thread but did not get a reply there so I am having another go here.

It's reported that the egg is laid with a hole in it at the pointy end. There is often a small patch of rough shell around where the hole is. This egg is laid most days, but the last couple of days they have got the same type of egg with no hole (see pic)

They say it does not look pecked or cracked, and the membrane is still intact, it's just the shell.

So, what is probable to cause this, and can it be corrected through supplement?

Thanks in advance, Ben

The hole is normally inside the rough circle at the pointy end.

 

[Judy]

The cause may simply be the age of the hen, or she may have a chronic disease or nutritional problem. Here are a couple of sources:

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/1/egg-quality-handbook/22/pinholes

http://www.avianweb.com/eggproblems.html

 

[Bens-Hens]

Thank you very much Judy, I will sit down and see what comes out of that read.

Always keen to hear if anyone else has had this issue too.