Egg glitches and egg laying question…

[Sefirothe]

I have only one dark brown egg layer (a wheaten marans) so I know for a fact both of these came from one hen in a less than 24 hr period.

The egg on the left was laid last night around 1am while they were on the roost. When I got home from work I picked it up out of the poop tray and looked on the coop cam history to see when it was laid.

The egg on the right I found in the nest box this afternoon also. So could have been laid anytime between 6am and 3pm.

I’m assuming her system held on to the one on the left for too long and some of the calcium that should have went to the one on the right which is thin shelled went to the one on the left because it seemed to have two layers of shell.

The yolk and whites appeared to be normal on both. I fed both back to the hens by smashing them on the run floor.

I have two questions, is it common for this to happen again if it’s happened once? The chicken in question is just a bit over one year old.

Second I always thought the eggs passed thru the chickens reproduction system pointy or round end first? The way these two fit together it’s like they went thru sideways. Maybe that’s why the first one got held up?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I have two questions, is it common for this to happen again if it’s happened once? The chicken in question is just a bit over one year old.

Second I always thought the eggs passed thru the chickens reproduction system pointy or round end first? The way these two fit together it’s like they went thru sideways. Maybe that’s why the first one got held up?

I agree, it does look like one was making contact with the other.

Will it happen again. There's no way to really know, time will tell.
This may be a one time glitch or it can happen again.

More about the reproductive system in the article and video below. Both are worth taking the time to read and watch.

There are different "stages" to the reproductive system. Loosely translated - The Ovum (Yolk) goes first into the reproductive system, then the Albumen (Whites) are formed, then the inner and outer shell Membranes are formed. Next on to the Shell Gland (Uterus), this is where the shell is formed. Pigment (if any) is also applied while in the Shell Gland.
The egg stays in the Shell Gland 20+hours. After this the egg goes through the vagina and is pushed out.

Bloom and Cuticle forms while in the vagina before "Oviposition". Which means- turning of the egg right before it's laid.
The egg travels through the oviduct small end first but turns in the vagina and is laid large end first.

So...the top egg was laying on the bottom egg while likely in the shell gland. Sometimes you can have what is called a Slab Sided egg where there's evidence that the eggs having been laying on one another in the shell gland. Shows a slab sided plus other "abnormalities".

After all that mess of writing...I'd just monitor her, see that she's acting o.k. and wait to see if there's a repeat before being too concerned. Often these things are just a glitch, but it's possible that something else can be going on if she's consistently laying these, then you'd want to try to narrow down possible causes.

Good read.
https://poultry.extension.org/articles/poultry-anatomy/avian-reproductive-female/

Good video.

 

[Sefirothe]

@Wyorp Rock Great info, thank you!

So maybe the extra calcium one got stuck mid turn and the second thin shelled one “crashed” into it.

I’ll keep an eye on her. I’m hoping it’s a one off glitch caused by my switching to an all flock feed for about a month or so to get a higher protein into them because some are regrowing feathers after a mite problem. Even tho I have three separate dishes of oyster shell out, I still got a bunch of thin shelled eggs. I’ve given up and bought more layer and some BSL to add for extra protein. We are currently mid switch back to their usual layer pellets.

Chickens like to keep things interesting, don’t they?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

@Wyorp Rock Great info, thank you!

So maybe the extra calcium one got stuck mid turn and the second thin shelled one “crashed” into it.

I’ll keep an eye on her. I’m hoping it’s a one off glitch caused by my switching to an all flock feed for about a month or so to get a higher protein into them because some are regrowing feathers after a mite problem. Even tho I have three separate dishes of oyster shell out, I still got a bunch of thin shelled eggs. I’ve given up and bought more layer and some BSL to add for extra protein. We are currently mid switch back to their usual layer pellets.

Chickens like to keep things interesting, don’t they?

Hopefully this is a one time thing.

Mine like oyster shell o.k. but I've been trying Flaked Oyster Shell, the girls gobble it up. We'll see how that goes, I've only been using it for a few weeks now. It's more expensive and I have to order it from amazon, but it seems to be a hit, so I may have to spend the extra $$ for that from now on.