Araucana laying eggs with a thick central ring on the outside of egg

[4hens1vizsla]

Has anyone experienced this with their hens? Our Araucana, Omelette, is about 30 weeks old, started laying at 20 weeks. This is assuming the hatchery sent her to us as a true new pullet -- 9 weeks old. The last 3 eggs she has laid have had a thick central ring on the outside of the egg. Inside they look fine. Her yolks tend to be large and somewhat paler than our other 3 hens (Buff Orpington, Custard; Barred Plymouth Rock, Souffle; Rhode Island Red, Fritatta). She seems happy and healthy looking and I haven't noticed any strange poop. but I don't want to miss something that could be going on with her internally. They are fed organic layer mash, organic layer scratch, a handful of freeze dried meal worms (not from China ), fresh arugula or fresh spinach every day and any other cut up vegetables that are on our menu for the day. Also, on occasion, a handful of Garden Delight (purchased at the local Feed Store) when they scream at me when I am trying to leave the house . They do not forage as our grass is sprayed with insecticide occasionally, hence the meal worms. I'm thinking maybe she is getting too much of something? not enough of something? or am I just obsessing? Any knowledge or advice you can share would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[sumi]

Welcome to BYC

From your description it sounds like she laid a "body checked" egg. These eggs' shells got cracked during the calcification process and had a layer of calcium deposited over the crack before the egg was laid. Some body checks are covered by a thick layer of calcium, forming an noticeable ridge or band around the egg. Body checks will increase if the hens are exited or gets startled late in the afternoon/early evening, when the egg shell formation process begins. Causes of body checks are stress and overcrowding and the hen's age can also be a factor. There is a higher incidence in body checked eggs from older layers.

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

 

[4hens1vizsla]

Thank you very much for taking the time to respond. I am thinking it is not overcrowding, my architect husband designed and built this coop for up to 8 hens -- we have 4. Plenty of nesting boxes, cleaned coop everyday and a generous sized run. Age shouldn't be a factor as she is only 30 weeks old. But stress could be the answer. The coop door is closed every night and all doors have locks on them that are locked every night, area surrounding is bricked (sort of like Fort Knox -- chicken style), as we have raccoons in the area. I have never seen evidence of a raccoon visiting but perhaps they are and tormenting our girls as they try to sleep. She does lay eggs at weird times, though. Sometimes in the afternoon, sometimes at night, sometimes in the morning, with her it is never a semi-consistent time. Not sure what I can do short of camping out with a BB gun in my hand AND that would really end up stressing her!!! Thanks for your thoughts. As long as there isn't anything medically wrong with her, I would hate to think she suffering silently. Kind regards.

 

[write2caroline]

Glad you joined us!

I lock up my girls too. I live in Florida and we have sand on the ground in the run but if you smooth the soil around your coop at night. With a rake or stick, you might find footprints the next am and that could tell you if you have critters checking out your coop. I grew up in San Jose California in a surburban neighborhood. We had opossums, raccoons, coyotes, foxes and lynx tracks from time to time.

Once, my friend came home from work and walked in the back door tossed her purse and keys on the counter and it was not until she walked into her dining room that she realized that her cat was not sitting on the counter next to the sink in the kitchen. Her cat was sitting under the table with eyes wide as saucers so she stepped backwards and peeked back into the kitchen to see that she placed her purse and keys next to a fairly large lynx which was sitting on the counter staring at her. Then it hopped down and walked out the doggie door. Her lab was hiding behind the cat in the dining room.

I look forward to reading more of your posts!

Caroline

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC!

Happy you joined us!

 

[All Henned Up]

araucanas from a hatchery???
Does she get layer food also, or oyster shell? sounds like a deficiency in her diet to me.
Welcome and enjoy!
Steve.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Hello and Welcome to BYC!

 

[drumstick diva]

 

[liz9910]

Welcome to BYC!

 

[4hens1vizsla]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for your interest.

Yes, I purchased Omelette, our Araucana, from McMurray Hatcheries and she is beautiful! And her eggs are the loveliest blue/green!

Yes, she gets organic layer mash, organic scratch, freeze dried meal worms (not from China!) as they do not forage our yard (our grass is sprayed with insecticide), Garden Delight (purchased at the local Feed & Seed Store) ground oyster shell, insoluble crushed granite (mixed with the oyster shell), fresh spinach or arugula or salad greens, cut up veggies, and filtered water (I know, I sound like a head-case) so I don't think it is a lack of anything.

The reply suggesting a "body checked egg" seems to make the most sense to me. It is possible they are being visited & tormented by raccoons at night and have become startled and excited thereby creating a crack in the egg as it works its way through the canal and her body repairs the crack before being laid (it is not happening consistently).

The ground around our coop is bricked 4 feet out and landscaped so I have no way to check for tracks to know for sure it is raccoons but we have plenty in our area. We live on Whitemarsh Island in Savannah, GA., surrounded by water and/or marsh.

I have fallen in love with these girls, which is probably not news to the people @ BYC.

Nancy