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Very tiny little eggs. Some pullets start out laying by laying fart eggs. Any layer can lay a fart egg at any time, but it's more common in pullets that have just begun to lay. Sometimes the fart eggs (or wind eggs, I've seen them called that too) don't even have a yolk.
Out of 29 ladies (23 of them just started laying in the last month), I have had quite a few double yolkers and only 1 fart egg. My DH said it looked like a malted milk ball! Boy, if we could learn how to have the girls lay those all the time, we could make millions selling no-yolk eggs!!! My problem is one of my BR girls is always laying the paper eggs...with the very thin membrane (so thin I don't want to call it a shell). She will lay 2-3 a week and they are very large. I think it is a defect in her because all of my girls get the same food, calcium, treats, etc. I can always tell it is from her because of where she roosts at night. Any suggestions??? My girls have a tray of calcium they can free eat from and I also throw it out with the scratch 2x a week.
The first thing I would do is take some oyster shell & mix it into their layer ration. Feed them like this for a week & see if the problem corrects itself. I had a hen who just would not eat the calcium until I did this. Then she finally seemed to get the hint.
If that isn't it, start researching:
Soft-shelled eggs
The first pullet egg may be soft-shelled until her system gets into its stride. If it continues, make sure that the birds are getting a balanced diet such as that provided by a commercial free-range or organic layers ration. Such feeds will usually contain calcium and phosphorus in the right ratio (around 3.5-4% calcium to 0.3% phosphorus). Providing a little crushed oyster-shell or calcified seaweed will ensure that any deficiency is rectified, for the birds will not take more than they require.
A shock can also make a hen lay a soft-shelled egg. My own observations are that if a flock is caught in a sudden shower of rain (for they are sometimes too dim to run for shelter), a few soft-shelled eggs are often produced the next day, but by the following day, theyre back to normal.
It is when soft-shelled eggs or misshapen ones are produced regularly that there need be a cause for concern. Veterinary advice should be sought. Conditions that adversely affect eggs include Newcastle disease (a notifiable disease to the authorities) and Infectious bronchitis, but there would be disease symptoms showing in the birds themselves if either of these was present. Hybrids are normally vaccinated against them.
Egg drop syndrome (EDS) is also a viral infection that results in a reduced number of eggs, as well as an increased number of pale-shelled eggs. Birds do recover from it but egg production may not get back to its previous level and there may still be a proportion of deformed ones produced. It can be vaccinated against.
Links:
http://www.amerpoultryassn.com/viral_diseases.htm (scroll down to egg-drop syndrome)
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...ndbook/16/thinshelled-eggs-and-shellless-eggs
