Egg with no shell

[Wyorp Rock]

americauna hen that’s a little over a year old & is very inconsistent at laying. Her eggs are very small & this past weekend, she laid an egg without the shell.

It could be a shell gland defect since she is over a year old. Some hens just seem to have problems. Observe your flock to see if she is under any added stress, see that she is eating/drinking (if being kept from food add feed stations). Offer oyster shell free choice.
It's never a bad idea to take some poop samples to your vet to rule out worms, but generally malformed eggs and inconsistent laying is a reproductive problem.
Here's more information about egg issues:
http://www.yellowbirchhobbyfarm.com/weird-eggs-101-the-oddities-explained/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

 

[Stina5]

We let them out to free range & see if anything changes. I pray that they continue to use their nest box & don’t find somewhere else (bushes, neighbors house etc) to lay...

It could be a shell gland defect since she is over a year old. Some hens just seem to have problems. Observe your flock to see if she is under any added stress, see that she is eating/drinking (if being kept from food add feed stations). Offer oyster shell free choice.
It's never a bad idea to take some poop samples to your vet to rule out worms, but generally malformed eggs and inconsistent laying is a reproductive problem.
Here's more information about egg issues:
http://www.yellowbirchhobbyfarm.com/weird-eggs-101-the-oddities-explained/
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

 

[tamiep]

Your hen released two ovum one right after the other. They traveled down the oviduct in close succession and by the time they neared the shell gland, she was likely in a great deal of discomfort, cramping up and feeling a lot of pressure.

This sort of thing is not desirable, and it's very risky as a soft egg is much more difficult to pass. This is one way hens get egg bound. I have a young hen with this problem. When she passes two eggs like yours did, I start her on calcium citrate 400mg with D3. The calcium will regulate her and make it less likely that she releases two ovum. Stop the calcium when she starts laying normally. Start out with just half a tablet a day. Increase it to a whole tablet if you don't see quick improvement.

Thank you azygous, for the response. I feed them all layer feed and they have access to oyster shells and occasionally boiled eggshells. I will buy the calcium/D3 you suggest. How do you give it to her? Just put it in her mouth?

 

[azygous]

Yes, or roll it in peanut butter and they think it's a treat.

 

[tamiep]

Yes, or roll it in peanut butter and they think it's a treat.

Thank you. I will do that tomorrow. I am unsure about her life before I rescued her, all I know is she was fed primarily corn and scraps, lived in Chicago and was going to be eaten. And she is very heavy, almost as big as a meat chicken. I mean, she's too heavy to fly up on the bars that the other girls like to sit on during the day. I didn't know if she had some health problems that might be creeping up. I hope this will take care of it. Poor girl.

 

[buckholtschickens]

Similar strange thing happened. We have 14 hens that have never been exposed to a rooster or at least never layed a fertilized egg we have seen yet. But today we found what I thought looked like a fetus. I should of taken pictures before I opened it... but.. I didn't think it really was what it was. It had soft embryo sack, that I removed. Once open what appeared to be any embryo with nearly formed eyes and basic beak. Once I discected the embryo it had the meat of a chicken, and it appeared to have a partially formed skeleton and brain matter. Its so weird I almost didn't want to post it. Its like the chicken kept the egg and embryo in their body for at least 14 days. I don't even know how this is possible, unless she was fertilized by our male duck, and its some kind of hybrid.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Similar strange thing happened. We have 14 hens that have never been exposed to a rooster or at least never layed a fertilized egg we have seen yet. But today we found what I thought looked like a fetus. I should of taken pictures before I opened it... but.. I didn't think it really was what it was. It had soft embryo sack, that I removed. Once open what appeared to be any embryo with nearly formed eyes and basic beak. Once I discected the embryo it had the meat of a chicken, and it appeared to have a partially formed skeleton and brain matter. Its so weird I almost didn't want to post it. Its like the chicken kept the egg and embryo in their body for at least 14 days. I don't even know how this is possible, unless she was fertilized by our male duck, and its some kind of hybrid.

@buckholtschickens Welcome To BYC
That looks like a Lash Egg or Salpingitis. This is an inflammation of the oviduct.
Here's some reading for you:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/causes-of-lash-eggs-salpingitis-by/

 

[buckholtschickens]

Probably just a lash egg, but it sure look convincingly like a chicken fetus. Probably over-active imagination, but certainly a lot of flesh to come out of a living chicken.

 

[buckholtschickens]

@buckholtschickens Welcome To BYC
That looks like a Lash Egg or Salpingitis. This is an inflammation of the oviduct.
Here's some reading for you:
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/salpingitis-lash-eggs-in-backyard/
http://www.the-chicken-chick.com/causes-of-lash-eggs-salpingitis-by/

Probably just a lash egg, but it sure look convincingly like a chicken fetus. Probably over-active imagination, but certainly a lot

 

[Ducksandchickens]

View attachment 1388595

Umm what’s this? Did I miss something?