Almost white egg, then no egg, now soft shelled egg - ????

[FarmsteadLady]

Okay, so I have this BSL that is a real pistol. She has laid everyday since I picked her up and then out of nowhere on Monday - she laid an almost white egg with brown spots on one end which is far different in color than her usual brown egg. After that she hasn't laid at all. I checked her vent - she is still eating, being bossy to the others, in other words her normal self. This morning, I go to let the girls out and I see this thing on the poop board - first thought was what in the world is that?!?!? I have to assume it is a soft egg but it wasn't all together, it was torn and quite honestly looked like a spent item used for protection.

They have oyster shell available to them freely...will she lay again? Is this normal? Is there something that I should look for?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[WingingIt]

They do misfire every now and then. They'll lay tiny eggs or shell-less eggs, eggs that are white or WAY lighter than normal, every now and then you get a HUGE one, too. Usually they go back to normal, though, afterwards. They do take a day or so break every now and then, too, so that's no big deal. The only other thing I can think of that you'd need to watch for is to make sure you don't have an egg eater - that could also be a reason that eggs 'disappear.' I'm sure you do, but do you have oyster shell out for them? If so, it's most likely just a combination of her resting and a misfire, so to speak.

 

[Cindiloohoo]

I agree that they "misfire" on occassion. I'd just watch her to see if it is a chronic issue or if everything gets back to normal. It shouldn't take but a few days for her to get back to normal on egg laying if there is nothing wrong.

 

[FarmsteadLady]

Quote:
Yes, oyster shell is out for them at all times. If she were eating the eggs, would she limit that to her own eggs or would she eat the others as well?

Cindi - I had thought that she would be back to normal by now. I will continue to monitor for the next few days now that the soft shell has been laid.

Thanks for the responses!

 

[feathersnuggles]

It will probably work itself out, in a few weeks. I had the same problem, recently. My hens have always had oyster shell available, free-choice style.

My hen (who had laid perfect smooth eggs since October 2009) started laying these strange eggs around mid-March this year. Light colored "warty" shells, with calcium bead-lumps randomly all over the shell, heavily deposited on the narrow tip of the shell. For several weeks her eggshells got worse, with times where she didn't lay an egg for several days in a row. She'd resume with very bumpy shells, and again, stop laying for almost a week. I got more & more worried about her shell gland. Mid-April she started laying lots of soft-shelled "rubber" eggs, sometimes 2 per day, many from the roost at night. I freaked out, thinking her shell gland was failing & she was going to become egg-bound. But, according to my spreadsheet (um, yes I was that worried) her last rubber egg was April 19, and she's laid absolutely smooth-shelled eggs, the last 5 days in a row. So, my fingers are crossed for you! I think, from time to time, they need to work out their kinks. After all, they lay a LOT of eggs and the plumbing may need some down time for maintenance. Especially that shell gland.

 

[WingingIt]

Quote:
Yes, oyster shell is out for them at all times. If she were eating the eggs, would she limit that to her own eggs or would she eat the others as well?

Cindi - I had thought that she would be back to normal by now. I will continue to monitor for the next few days now that the soft shell has been laid.

Thanks for the responses!

Then I bet she's just working out some kinks and will be back to normal in a short while. I've never had an egg eater but I've read on there that they will eat multiple eggs each day. That's how most people seem to have figured out that they had one, they start getting less eggs daily than they have been and should be. Or they go out there anc catch them in the act. Sounds like she just needed a break.

 

[FarmsteadLady]

Update - she laid today!

Yesterday there was a not completely formed cracked egg that had me wondering but today, she laid!!

Thanks for everyone's input!!!