chickens laying funky eggs

[chickengirl101]

Hi,
I have a Golden Laced Wyandotte hen, about 1 1/2 years old. For about 1 month now, she has layed me an egg without a shell. She has layed good, health eggs in the past, but now it's just a runny yellow yolk. I'm not really sure what to do, so if someone could please help me out and give me advice on how to fix her, I would be so thankful!

Right now, this is my chicken's diet:
Once or twice a day, chopped up fruits and leafy greens (lots and lots of spinach, bananas, and oatmeal)
corn scratch
crumbles
(i just bought oyster shell crumbles for the first time yesterday, so I have to see if they eat them)
the occasional dairy products such as milk, yogurt, and cheese. (it seems like I've given them alot of cheese lately...)
fresh water every day

They also have free-range of the backyard.

 

[Mtn Margie]

It sounds like a definite calcium deficiency. Spinach can interfere with calcium absorption with it being high in oxalates. Try different things for awhile. You can give them their crushed egg shells back and put out oyster shell in a cup so that they can eat it whenever they want. Yoghurt is good, cheese is high in fat. I think I would cut down on the treats and get a layer pellet or crumble to be their main source of food for a while.

Oh and I just noticed....

you will find lots of great info here!

 

[thegoldengirls]

Offer yogurt, the love it as a treat.
Also, I provide oyster shells in a dish so they have free choice of it all the time.
I acutally use a double cat dish and put oyster shells in one side and grit in the other.
It's been a long time since we've had a soft egg, or "rubber" egg.
Good luck!

 

[sherylreno]

I agree on this one - you should always have a source of calcium for the egg layers to produce good egg shells. You might have had a few very thin shelled eggs at first and then you got no shells. One thing to be very careful with is an egg breaking inside the hens, then you will have other issues with that one. Keep looking around here in the emergencies and also don't forget the feeding the flock posts too and before you have issues so you know what to do when you have an emergency.

 

[dawg53]

Quote:
Welcome to BYC.
Your hen should only be fed layer feed. It has the appropriate vitamins and minerals a hen needs for egg production. Provide crushed oyster shell as free choice. Use scratch only as a treat, sparingly.

 

[chickengirl101]

Thanks for all of your help. I will defiantly give them the oyster shells.

 

[chickengirl101]

Hey,
I went out to the nesting boxes today and their was a little bit of yellow yolk stuff in the hay, but what really shocked me was that there was this tan, clumpy stuff. It was really weird. I also don't know if the hens are eating the oyster shells. If anyone has some advice on how to get them to eat the oyster shells or what the clumpy tan stuff means, tks!!

 

[Urban Farmer Savy]

Hi, recently I have been getting about 1 in 6 eggs that has a runny yolk when cracked open to cook. I have two questions, is there something I can do to prevent this? Also, can these be eaten? It's really discouraging when I crack three good eggs into a recipe and the fourth is one of these runny ones, I have to throw everything out.

Thanks!

 

[thegoldengirls]

Quote:
I'm not sure about the runny yolk thing or what may cause it, other than the fact that your eggs are fresh and will be a little different that store bought eggs that have had time to sit.
I would suggest doing what I do when using them to cook... I always break my eggs in a seperate dish. Then if you do get a "funky" egg, you can easily toss it before mixing it in. I also do this because my girls tend to lay fairly hard shelled eggs, and if a piece get into the dish, I can easily remove it.

Hope this helps a little.