Egg without shell or membrane?

[pennyJo1960]

Thanks for that thought..I will try keep an eye cos I don't want them eating the eggshells in the coop. I hope bluebell is OK and that it's just a need for more calcium.
I really appreciate people taking the time to reply too

Give the oyster, You can add crushed shell to it if you want

 

[Ridgerunner]

Until you know which one is laying it and how often, I have no suggestions on treatment.

If the other eggs are OK there is no reason to increase calcium for everyone.

 

[Hylee Unlikely]

I have one Australorp that sometimes loses an egg at night while she's on the roost and sometimes it's a leather egg. I recently switched them to a different layerfeed which has increased egg production amongst the flock, it still happens occasionally.
I have 4 new young Golden Comet pullets that are overachievers (typical in my limited experience). They started laying at 4 months, little bitty eggs at first, gradually getting bigger). One of them has had a leather egg a couple of times.
They just turned 5 months last Wednesday.

Recently I found 2 leather eggs in their run, right next to each other.
About an hour ago I noticed one girl stand in the run like she had to poop so I just watched and sure enough, she dropped one leather egg which I quickly snatched before one of the Australorps could get to it.
The Aussie then stayed with the Comet, like she knew there was going to be a second egg. Well, I stayed and watched and a couple of minutes later she popped out a second egg, almost identical in size.
Both had beautiful yokes, just no shells. The Comets' eggs are a gorgeous dark copper color and easy to distinguish from the very light colored eggs the Australorps produce. And all their regular eggs have incredibly thick, hard shells - they're tough to crack open.

Now here is the crazy thing:

I had 4 beautiful eggs from the young comets this morning by 10am. 4 comets, 4 eggs.
Then at 6:30pm, I observed Mellow laying the two leather eggs. Holy smokes! So unless one of the other Comets layed two eggs this morning, Mellow layed 3 eggs today, one regular with a nice solid shell and two good sized leather eggs. Wow. She won't get very old if she keeps it up!
I realize the Golden Comets put out a lot and rather large eggs at times, which takes a toll on their bodies. I even had little Gracie Comet (from my first flock, something must have happened to her when she was young, she waddled instead of a normal gait and tried to follow me around like our velcro Great Danes that want to go to the bathroom with us) lay 2 eggs in one day and she often made ginormous double yokers, one was so big I thought it was a triple yoker. Turned out to be a double, if I recall correct it was well over 108 grams (might have been more, it was a few years ago).

Hopefully the Comet pullets settle into a more "normal" rythm as they mature! At least now I know which of them has the leather eggs!

 

[Ridgerunner]

About an hour ago I noticed one girl stand in the run like she had to poop so I just watched and sure enough, she dropped one leather egg which I quickly snatched before one of the Australorps could get to it.
The Aussie then stayed with the Comet, like she knew there was going to be a second egg. Well, I stayed and watched and a couple of minutes later she popped out a second egg, almost identical in size.

What is happening is that she is releasing several yolks a day, instead of the normal one yolk most days. It is a flaw in her system. If the yolks are released at the same time you may get a double or even a triple yolker. If they are released at different times you can get separate eggs. A hen typically makes just enough shell material to cover one egg. The later eggs are often thin-shelled or no-shelled. Other things can cause thin-shelled eggs but with your girl it is pretty obvious.

I recently switched them to a different layerfeed which has increased egg production amongst the flock, it still happens occasionally.

Out of curiosity, what was the percent protein of the old feed and the new feed? I understand we are on a forum where if they are laying, up the protein. If they are molting, up the protein, If they are living or walking, up the protein.

Some Gold Comets are crosses of regular breeds but some are commercial egg laying hybrids. It certainly sounds like yours are the highly productive commercial egg laying hybrids. The commercial hybrids are bred to pump out a lot of nice sized eggs. Even at five months your egg size is probably a lot nicer than when they started. One reason the commercial operations feed the lower protein feed (around 16%) is that a higher protein content can lead to problems for their birds, like releasing extra yolks. This is not a problem with out typical dual purpose chickens, they can handle it. But the commercial hybrids are bred to be highly tuned laying machines, it is easier to upset their system.

Yours have just started to lay. Pullets often have glitches when they first start. One of those glitches can be releasing extra yolks. Most pullets outgrow that in a few days , maybe a few weeks. You may see some benefit from that or there may just be a flaw in her system that will never correct itself.

Good luck!

 

[Hylee Unlikely]

What is happening is that she is releasing several yolks a day, instead of the normal one yolk most days. It is a flaw in her system. If the yolks are released at the same time you may get a double or even a triple yolker. If they are released at different times you can get separate eggs. A hen typically makes just enough shell material to cover one egg. The later eggs are often thin-shelled or no-shelled. Other things can cause thin-shelled eggs but with your girl it is pretty obvious.


Out of curiosity, what was the percent protein of the old feed and the new feed? I understand we are on a forum where if they are laying, up the protein. If they are molting, up the protein, If they are living or walking, up the protein.

Some Gold Comets are crosses of regular breeds but some are commercial egg laying hybrids. It certainly sounds like yours are the highly productive commercial egg laying hybrids. The commercial hybrids are bred to pump out a lot of nice sized eggs. Even at five months your egg size is probably a lot nicer than when they started. One reason the commercial operations feed the lower protein feed (around 16%) is that a higher protein content can lead to problems for their birds, like releasing extra yolks. This is not a problem with out typical dual purpose chickens, they can handle it. But the commercial hybrids are bred to be highly tuned laying machines, it is easier to upset their system.

Yours have just started to lay. Pullets often have glitches when they first start. One of those glitches can be releasing extra yolks. Most pullets outgrow that in a few days , maybe a few weeks. You may see some benefit from that or there may just be a flaw in her system that will never correct itself.

Good luck!

Eggzactly! Thanks for spelling it out, I bet there are plenty of people it might help to read.

I was feeding 17% protein New Country Organics, soy free (worst crop full of Glyphospates, sorry, not sure how to spell it ) and corn free to help tolerate the heat here), but last years moulting turned the Australorps into not laying at all and their body scores dropped like a rock.

I ended up switching to Kalmbach Reserve Henhouse, which is a 17% Grain feed and 16% Kalmbach layer crumbles. It was like night and day, their condition improved, the molting process progressed quicker and everyone looked shiny, fat and happy and they began to lay eggs again.

The Golden Comet chicks started out on 18% Kalmbach broiler crumbles, they are now fully integrated with the big girls. And yes, they have free access to grit and oystershell. They would not touch the oystershell, but now I have enough eggs to save the shells (I grind fine in a food processor) and feed them
back, that does the trick. I ordered a different calcium supplement in case I don't have enough shells ready, it's on the way.

Golden Comets are a hybrid between Rhode Island Red hens and White Leghorn roosters and have been bred to mature early and produce a heap of eggs. Along with that, they have got to ne the sweetest chickens out of all the breeds or cross breeds I have had.
They typically don't get as old as standard bred chickens because they pump so many nutrients into their eggs instead of supporting their own bodies.
Anyway, my husband absolutely loved our little Gracie and they happened to have some at the feedstore back in late November, he couldn't resist so we got 4 chicks.

I still really love the Brahmas I had in my past flock, my theory was they would be too large for most hawks, which turned out to be right. Except for the Bald Eagles that are nesting 2 1/2 miles from us.

But now I've got a special arrangement with a breeding pair of Red Shouldered Hawks that has roosted in trees 1/2 mile from us, they are gorgeous!

They recently moved out of their old nest because of a bunch of construction and decided to build a new nest in a big live oak that is right behind my chicken coop and run. I was a little concerned, but the chickens didn't seem to mind it at all. It's definitely not been a source of stress, at first they hightailed it to their pen or under natural cover.

My male dog is a fabulous flock guardian, he is 160 pounds of Harlequin and when he hangs out with the girls in pasture, nothing has made any attempts to snag a chicken. Except for our girls, who love any opportunity to try and catch a chicken.
When the male is not out with the chickens, I've watched the hawks on several occasions swoop from a tree and catch lizards, squirrels, rabbits and the occasional rat (they're mostly nocturnal), right between the chickens. I've never seen them make an attempt at the adult Australorps.
My theory with Australorps may be right or wrong, but Hawks hate crows and crows hate Hawks! So all the black chickens blended right in with crows and vultures. It's made a difference for sure

Their coop/pen is pretty much predator proof. Sometimes a Black Racer or Eastern Coachwhip find their way in during the day when the door is open and the girls are out foraging. Worst they do is steal an egg on occasion, small price to pay for hunting rats, mice and other rodents!
I watched my favorite Red Corn-snake pillage a rat nest and eat the babies, until mother rat came out and attacked the snake. It was a fierce fight! The rat wounded her severely about mid body before the poor snake made her escape. I got the attack on video, some times it's like the national geographic here.

The next morning the poor snake ended up in my shop, just inside the door. Nasty rat bite wounds and ticks immediately buried in the wounds. I gave her a bucket with a bit of water to rest in and disinfected the wound, but she ended up dead a few days later

I always have live traps in strategic locations, when I catch a rabbit, rat or squirrel, I dispatch them and place them so the hawks can take them. Works like a charm! It also keeps the hawks from attacking us to defend their nest as we go on about the daily chores.
While the Comets are still small, they don't get to go out to forage yet. Their pen is plenty big with plants inside and around. Small critters love living in the bananas, the chickens never get bored even if they are locked up. They hunt lizards and bugs and lots of insects.

I've lost 2 Australorps to the Bald Eagles, mostly in areas furthest away from the coop. Turns out the hawks are fiercely defending their nest from the eagles and are as good of a deterrent as we can have.

Raccoons and possums getting caught in the live traps I place on the outside of our fence, then let the buffalo herd of Great Danes out to bark at them like crazy, after a minute of that I release the critter and they high tail it faster than a roadrunner and don't come back.

Over the years, it's either spreading the word or? But it works and I don't need to dispatch them, which I hate to do, they have their place in nature too.

Anyway, I find it better to learn ways to live with predators instead of killing them. It's always sad when a chicken gets taken, they're our girls and part of the pack as much as the dogs, but it's fantastic to watch all kinds or wild critters. All around us the bush gets clearcut to build more gated communities and the critters lose their homes. We end up being a haven for wildlife, it's pretty special we can afford them some space.
Everything they need, water, food and shelter are right here for them to stay or stage to relocate from the area. We really enjoy watching the tortoises, various snakes, indigenous lizards, frogs and toads and small alligators; not to mention the craziest beautiful species of birds that either live here or travel thru to their destination.

We plant more fruit trees and create sort of a perma-food-forest for us and the critters to enjoy. It keeps us on our toes and spending much time outside where we can enjoy our little homestead