Deformed egg

[ochochicas]

Last night I picked up two older hens from a woman in Seattle. As we were loading them she looked in their coop and says, "Oh, there's an egg in here." She wasn't the best animal owner and you could tell didn't care about the chickens at all.

In any event, the egg is not what I would consider a normal egg. One end is smooth but the other end is rippled. What would cause this? Is the hen lacking something in her diet? I'm going to the feed store today to get some calcium for the hens. What else should I get? They've been eating chicken crumbles and have had free range in a small yard. Thanks in advance!

 

[dana0710]

I've read that it could be cause from some type of viral disease or bronchitis? Does the hen seem sick at all?

 

[BantamLover21]

Misshapen eggs are often just a minor malfunction of a hen's reproductive system, and are nothing to worry about. But dana0710 is correct in that lots of misshapen eggs are a symptom of Infectious Bronchitis, a chicken respiratory disease. As long as your hen seems fine otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much about the odd egg.

 

[ochochicas]

Thanks for the replies. I also read that older hens can lay deformed eggs as a process of aging. The two hens are over two years old, so I guess it isn't surprising. They seem normal and healthy. Since we picked them up Wednesday night they have laid three more normal eggs. We gave them some oyster shells and they gobbled them down. They seem like pretty happy campers on the farm.