egg defects

[dandelionsrflowers2]

We have a run of the mill egg layer that we ordered from the feed store and she has had egg problems for a year now. The shells are very weak, if squeezed they would break easily in your hand. When cracked open, they look disgusting. Blood spots and very white yolks at times. Here is a picture of her egg today. Many times, the light yellow spots on top of the yolk cover the whole thing.

she is our our little buddy and an excellent pet and I really want her to be healthy. She is such a pig when it comes to food and is the first to come running and snarf down anything provided. This is her second fall and has yet to molt and is looking a little rough around the edges

any help would be appreciated!
thank you,
carrie

 

[ThomsonCentennialFarm]

I am by no means an expert, but I would suggest reviewing the diet you feed your hens. Make sure they are getting enough calcium (for shell strength) and are getting enough yellow corn and greens. The egg in your picture looks normal to me, the chalaza is possibly a little more pronounced, and there are a couple of blood spots in the egg (but you can still eat the egg). Your hen might be getting a little older, might be genetically predisposed to creating blood spots in eggs, or might be lacking Vitamin A (again, review your hens' diet; you can also add a vitamin AD&E powder to their water as a supplement).

Hope that helps.

 

[RhodeIslandRedFan]

Please tell us what is in your hen's diet. A good quality layer pellet and free choice oyster shell can help with thin shells. Adding green leafy vegetables can help darken yolks. There are other foods that will result in darker yolks as well - I can't think of them off-hand, but if you search this site you will find information on what they are. Here is a link to information on internal and external egg defects - you might find something here that helps http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/1/egg-quality-handbook/38/preface

 

[dandelionsrflowers2]

the chicken's diet is a good quality, organic layer feed... but they are free range and have a3/4 of an acre to roam. They also have free choice oyster shells. Bernice is the only one having a problem out of nine. And believe me, you would not want to eat this egg. This is a fairly good looking egg for her, at times the egg yolk has had a off white, glumpy look to it. The shells are so weak that a squeeze would smash them. there are also, at times a chunk of hard red (blood?) next to the yolk.

I didn't see anything on that link that really matched her eggs - i had actually found it before I posted here.

isn't it odd that only one hen would be having problems?

thanks for your replies!
~carrie

 

[ThomsonCentennialFarm]

Are worms a possibility? Check out this thread for worm pictures and tips on worming: https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=540799&p=4