Deformed egg shell at tip

[A05951]

One of my three Brown Bovans (production chicken) laid this strange looking egg this morning. I adopted these Bovans as one year olds in May 2014, so she is about 1 1/2 years old. She didn't lay an egg yesterday, which didn't worry me because she's been taking a day off every week or so during October. I figure it is due to shorter days this time of year (I'm in Wisconsin) and growing in new feathers. The deformity at the tip of the egg is soft, but the rest of the shell is hard. Nothing leaks out of the deformed end, so the part that looks a little 'dented-in" is actually solid. There just seems to be an extra swirl of softer shell at the end. For example, if I touch the very tip of the extra material I can move it a little. The hen has been healthy and acting normally. I don't see any signs of infectious bronchitis, though she was sneezing a few times a day about three weeks ago. No nasal discharge, however, or other signs of illness. They have a separate dish of oyster shells and I feed them layer feed. I also sprinkle a very small amount of finely ground up egg shells on top of their feed. I've never had any broken eggs or evidence of eating eggs. As you can see in the second picture, the coloring on the egg is lighter at the ends. I did move their little pre-fab coop within a new run I built on the side of our garage, but that was back on September 8 (now November 2), and they didn't miss a beat as far as laying. They are not at all crowded, but the new run doesn't get much sun, and their previous location did offer afternoon sun.

Does anyone have any thoughts. I figure it's just a freak egg.

 

[BantamLover21]

It is probably just a fluke occurrence, a minor malfunction of the hen's oviduct. Malformed eggs are relatively normal for hens as long as they don't occur regularly or are accompanied by other symptoms.

 

[sunflour]

So glad you joined us. I think its just a freak egg, maybe a blip in the shell gland. Here's hoping it's the only one you find.

 

[A05951]

Upon further examination of the deformity at the tip, the shell is soft around the deformity, see red circle below. Any advice on whether I should toss the egg or use it?

 

[BantamLover21]

Upon further examination of the deformity at the tip, the shell is soft around the deformity, see red circle below. Any advice on whether I should toss the egg or use it?

It is your decision as to whether to eat the egg or not. However, as long as the shell isn't obviously cracked (thus exposing the interior of the egg), it is probably fine to eat.

 

[TheBeardie]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems This my be good information

 

[A05951]

Update: Today I found a completely shell less and membrane less egg in the nest box and another normal egg. There was no evidence of shells anywhere, so I'm sure it wasn't broken open. It just seemed to be laid without a shell. Since only two of my three hens lay eggs, I suspect it is from the same chicken that laid the deformed egg yesterday. She came downstairs this morning and pooped a couple times, ate her oatmeal treat and then eventually went back up to the nest box and has been in there for over an hour. I thought maybe she didn't feel like she actually laid an egg and wanted to try again, but now I'm worried about her because she has her head tucked in like she is sleeping. She doesn't appear to be struggling with trying to get an egg out. I hope I'm not losing her. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[A05951]

Update #2: Well as if hitting "submit" on my previous update triggered her get off the nest and re-join the other two, because I just went to check on them and she is doing normal chicken things: preening, scratching, jumping up on milk crate, eating. Perhaps having kids would have been less stressful than raising chickens! I still hope she is going to be okay. Any thoughts on this shell-less egg thing would be appreciated. I know production chickens like mine can have many reproductive problems, so hopefully at 1 1/2 years, she isn't already failing.

 

[TheBeardie]

10. Shell-less eggs
A shell less consists of a yolk, albumen and membrane, but has no shell at all. The egg contents are protected by the outer membrane only. These are often seen in pullets coming into lay. Causes are:

- Immature shell gland (young layer);

- Nutritional deficiency, usually lack of calcium and vitamins E, B12 and D as well as phosphorous and selenium;

- Certain diseases, such as Newcastle disease, infectious bronchitis, avian influenza, egg drop syndrome;

- Exposure to very high temperatures and extremely high or low humidity levels;

- An infestation of internal or external parasites, such as worms, mites or lice;

- Stress prompting the hen to lay an egg prematurely, before the shell is formed;

- Egg laying while molting;

- Exposure to toxins, such as mold, fungi, bacteria.

 

[A05951]

I always find it frustrating when I find a thread and it matches my chicken problems only to find no final resolution. Therefore, I thought I'd post an update on what has happened with my chicken and her egg shell problems. The day after she laid the shell-less, membrane-less egg (looked just like someone broke an egg open and dropped it), she was lethargic and standing in the corner of the run. Getting worried about her, I brought her some water and eventually by the end of the day she was eating some carrot stems and sunflowers. She went to bed without incident.

The next morning she got up at the normal time and proceeded to visit the nest box three times throughout the morning and finally on the third try laid a rubber egg, just the membrane around it. Next to it was a piece of waded up leathery egg shell type material that I'm guessing was supposed to be around that shell-less, membrane-less egg from two days prior. The rest of the day she was normal. I tried 1/2 tsp of cod liver oil for vitamin D in a tablespoon of yogurt late in the day to perhaps aid in calcium absorption. (continued below pictures)

Rubber egg

leathery egg shell material came out with rubber egg



No egg from her for the next two days but then on the third day after the rubbery egg, she laid a normal looking egg by 8 a.m. I had been continuing with a little cod liver oil once a day in yogurt and added maybe 1/2 tsp cuttlebone shavings to the yogurt. I had cuttlebones leftover from when I kept canaries and just grated them with a fine grater to powder it. This is a calcium source, as cuttlebones are 85% calcium carbonate. I also tried putting some of their oyster shell bits on top of their food, but I don't think they like to eat these as they are a little big for them. (They were already de-beaked when I adopted them at 1 year old, and I'm not sure if they can pick things up as easy as other birds.)

She took three days off from egg laying but continued to act normal, and now for the last two days, she has laid two perfect eggs. I think she is back but will be keeping a close eye on her. The temps have been in the 20 degree (F) range at night with lower temps expected, so I'm glad she is getting better. I'd hate to think of her struggling with laying rubber eggs in freezing temps.