egg coloring

[quailtrail]

I have a corturnix and an A&M left. ..today I had a small dark brown egg???? Several speckled eggs lg and sm... a few very lg quail eggs, some without an outer shell at all... thought????

 

[TwoCrows]

All the spots on a quail egg is put on there at the very last minute the egg is being laid. It is called the "bloom". And every hen will have different shades and spots. As the hens age, the colors can get darker. The more a hen lays, the lighter the bloom can become.

As for the shell less eggs, you need to offer up calcium on the side. Either in the form of crushed oystershell or cuttlebone. Some even feed the shells back to the birds. Some added calcium is needed to produce egg shells. Calcium is also very important for the contractions in the oviduct to push out the egg. Without enough calcium, she can not push the egg out and can become egg bound.

 

[creekrocket]

Nice Info Two Crows! I've Always Wondered About That. Thanks

 

[quailtrail]

All the spots on a quail egg is put on there at the very last minute the egg is being laid. It is called the "bloom". And every hen will have different shades and spots. As the hens age, the colors can get darker. The more a hen lays, the lighter the bloom can become.

As for the shell less eggs, you need to offer up calcium on the side. Either in the form of crushed oystershell or cuttlebone. Some even feed the shells back to the birds. Some added calcium is needed to produce egg shells. Calcium is also very important for the contractions in the oviduct to push out the egg. Without enough calcium, she can not push the egg out and can become egg bound.

there is crushed oyster shells in there...some days they are just without a shell???? And only laying for a month always different colors? ??

 

[TwoCrows]

A few things can cause shell less eggs. First, make sure the oyster shell is small enough that they are able to eat it. The pullet sized in the bags are too big for them to consume and must be crushed. I used the stuff that is for automatic dispensers. It comes really chipped and crushed.

Sometimes the hens need a different type of calcium. Cuttle bone calcium perhaps. Some birds bodies absorb things differently.

Make sure the birds are on a good diet. Maybe switch feeds. Not all feeds are created alike and may be lacking key ingredients to allow the hen to absorb and process calcium. Phosphorus, Vitamin D and D3 and Magnesium must all be in the proper ratios to Calcium for the hen to break down and absorb the calcium

Too much food or fatty foods(oily seeds) can cause a hen to release too many egg yolks close together and if she is not getting enough calcium, one of these eggs is going to be shell less. Along this line, if they are on a very high protein diet, this can cause the hen to lay too many eggs and some may come out without shells.

Laying shell less eggs can be hereditary. Her momma laid shell less eggs.

The hen could have a defective shell gland. Not at all common, but it does happen.

Bacterial or viral infections inside the hen can cause shell less eggs.

So these are the things that cause shell less eggs. Possibly others that I forgot to mention. LOL See if you can pinpoint any of these things that might be causing your problems. If this is only happening to one hen, it may be just her make up. You can try reducing her daylight for a few weeks and see if maybe she comes back into laying eggs with shells on them. If more than one hen is doing this, then you need to get down to the bottom of the issue by going thru some of these suggestions. Good luck!

 

[quailtrail]

A few things can cause shell less eggs. First, make sure the oyster shell is small enough that they are able to eat it. The pullet sized in the bags are too big for them to consume and must be crushed. I used the stuff that is for automatic dispensers. It comes really chipped and crushed.

Sometimes the hens need a different type of calcium. Cuttle bone calcium perhaps. Some birds bodies absorb things differently.

Make sure the birds are on a good diet. Maybe switch feeds. Not all feeds are created alike and may be lacking key ingredients to allow the hen to absorb and process calcium. Phosphorus, Vitamin D and D3 and Magnesium must all be in the proper ratios to Calcium for the hen to break down and absorb the calcium

Too much food or fatty foods(oily seeds)  can cause a hen to release too many egg yolks close together and if she is not getting enough calcium, one of these eggs is going to be shell less. Along this line, if they are on a very high protein diet, this can cause the hen to lay too many eggs and some may come out without shells.

Laying shell less eggs can be hereditary. Her momma laid shell less eggs.

The hen could have a defective shell gland. Not at all common, but it does happen.

Bacterial or viral infections inside the hen can cause shell less eggs.

So these are the things that cause shell less eggs. Possibly others that I forgot to mention. LOL See if you can pinpoint any of these things that might be causing your problems. If this is only happening to one hen, it may be just her make up. You can try reducing her daylight for a few weeks and see if maybe she comes back into laying eggs with shells on them. If more than one hen is doing this, then you need to get down to the bottom of the issue by going thru some of these suggestions. Good luck!

thanks for all the info!!!!! I do believe it is the 1 hen. I did change their diet (in error) as the bag I picked up was 20% not 24%. But added some kibble and the oyster shells. I will grind it up amd see if that works. I will look for the cuttle bone as well. It does seem less frequent now