Body checked egg

[Alicia113290]

Hoping to get some clarity. I have a great post tagged from this site about common egg problems and found that one is adding up to what I’m seeing. They called it a “body checked egg” I didn’t think anything of it the first time but now I’ve had three in a few weeks. All the same color so from the one girl but now that it’s happened several times I’m wondering if there is something I should be concerned about? The description said it could be stress or overcrowding but my ladies have space and there are only five of them in an 8 chicken coop. There have been deer in the yard at night could that be it? Thanks!

 

[aart]

an 8 chicken coop

How big is that in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help here.

More info about your birds would help too.
How old, in weeks or months?
Is that shell fairly thick and strong when you break it to eat?
What all and how exactly are you feeding?
I'd not worry too much,
as long as bird is eating/drinking/pooping/moving around OK.
It may smooth out or you may have a bird with a wonky shell gland.

Also....
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[EggSighted4Life]

I had a hen (white faced black Spanish) that laid body checked eggs all the time.

Thinking it was the rooster, I removed him and it continued. With no obvious cause. To me it was a defect of the individual hen, in that instance. Over crowding, nutrition, and other things are not much of an issue here.

An alleged 8 hen coop.. is very likely packed tight with 5 in there. What is their age and breed?

While it may effect hatching conditions... I would not otherwise worry about it.

 

[Alicia113290]

This saga continues as were having a very weird day here. Yesterday they all laid five perfect looking eggs and since they started laying in August the only issues have been the body checked eggs. Now today I have two more wonky issues, one soft shell and another I don’t even know what. My birds seem to be in fine health. No one is showing any signs of being sick or anything. Since the weather cooled off they are sleeping on the outside roost more, that’s where I found the soft shell actually it was not in the nest it was on the ground under the roost. I also moved some baby chickens outside but they’re in a different coop and they haven’t interacted at all. Can anyone tell me if there is a common theme here causing these issues that I need to be worried about? I did switch them to a non-GMO feed but I slowly transitioned them it wasn’t an abrupt switch. Could it be that that’s causing the issues? They have free access to their food as well as separate oyster shells so I don’t think it’s a calcium deficiency? Ugh I’m so worried about them. Thanks!

 

[ChocolateMouse]

How big is that in feet by feet?
Dimensions and pics would help here.

More info about your birds would help too.
How old, in weeks or months?
Is that shell fairly thick and strong when you break it to eat?
What all and how exactly are you feeding?

Also....
Where in this world are you located?

All of this is information needed to properly assess the problem(s) if present.

 

[Alicia113290]

I don’t know the dimensions of their coop or area but it’s a good amount. There are three nesting boxing they have two roosts and are not at all crammed. The chickens were born in April and starting laying in August. They’re getting fed in a grandpa chicken feeder so it’s free to them and I just changed to scratch and peck later feed. I’m in Pittsburgh PA so it’s been nice weather here. Another thing to potentially note is we’ve seen more deer in our yard lately that may be startling them?

 

[ChocolateMouse]

Dimensions or pictures of the actual enclosed part of the coop would still help. Many coops are labeled "for X chickens" but actually that dimension is only for commercial (think factory) sizes or for very tiny chickens.

I've never found my chickens easily startled by deer, but it's possible.

What are the shells like when you crack them?

 

[EggSighted4Life]

This is not a body checked egg IMO... but more like wrinkled or corrugated. I copied your images to make it clear which I was discussing.

This egg has excess calcium bumps or deposits showing. The color is mostly irrelevant and that can vary widely throughout the cycle.

I did switch them to a non-GMO feed but I slowly transitioned them it wasn’t an abrupt switch. Could it be that that’s causing the issues? They have free access to their food as well as separate oyster shells so I don’t think it’s a calcium deficiency?

Oh gosh, beautiful feed... but can cause more issues among flock with some ladies picking out only their favorite bits and ultimately either becoming no longer balanced or some have even had fatty liver syndrome pop up. For these reasons... I prefer the pelleted feed over the pretty one.

It's probably has enough calcium that supplementing may not be super important. But it's good to make sure your side dish is in a well used location.

The soft egg on the ground or under roost is a very typical place for them to happen. Even though they are a few months into laying there can still be hiccups. Their still maturing, daylight is changing, and such.

I'm shocked none of us have shared this article with you yet.. have you seen it already? It's a fantastic article even though almost everything states some sort of serious illness or disease... just use the information if you can and try not to jump to conclusions...
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

Hope ya get some answers!