Egg without a shell?!?!?

[FarmGirl21]

every once in a great while from one of our laying hens we've gotten an egg that just has the membrane & no shell! does anyone know what could cause this? they are very well fed chickens & are healthy. most are between 1 year and a 1.5years. there is a couple that are a bit older but still young enough to still be laying daily. It only happens once in a great while. over the last year we've gotten 3 eggs like this. It is just very weird & was wondering if anyone knew WHY?

 

[eggzettera]

check out this link I have it bookmarked. http://www.thepoultrysite.com/ourbooks/1/egg-quality-handbook/
HTH

 

[horsejody]

That can happen when they lack calcium. You could try putting out a dish of oyster shell. I have one old girl that gives me those shell less eggs occasionally. Oyster shells doesn't always prevent it in her, but she is a senior citizen.

 

[mikeksfarmer]

The greatest source of calcium is green leafy vegitables. Oyster shell is very good too. However there are other reasons this may be happening. Genetics; The chicken cant process CA at a rate fast enough to keep up with the higher egg production of the breed. It could be that the gland that produces the shell material is wearing out. And as we learned from our top preditor birds; toxins in the environment/diet can greatly weaken CA deposition. (thin shelled eggs) Dont buy your chicken food from China! LOL

 

[Enchanted Sunrise Farms]

One of my girls started laying soft shell eggs when she was broody. But it continued well after she came out of it. i provide plenty of crushed oyster shell, as well as cooking then grinding up the shells of their own eggs. i pulled her out on a regular basis to provide cooked egg, mealworms, and extra treats. Nothing helped until i went back to adding Avia Charge 2000 to the water. i had been doing that on a regular basis. But with a long distance move, then adding more chickens, i had become lax about it. Now that i'm providing it on a regular basis, everything is back to normal.

 

[Jolyn]

One of my barred rocks laid an egg like this yesterday. It may have been her first egg. I'm afraid she may have eaten some of it. Will this cause a problem with her going after the other eggs?

 

[cmom]

Quote:
mikeksfarmer

I agree with this post

 

[cmom]

Quote:
FarmGirl21 and mikeksfarmer

I agree with this post