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Egg Yolk in Nest Boxes, No Shell

Discussion in 'Chicken Behaviors and Egglaying' started by Trillium233, Aug 15, 2013.

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  1. Aug 15, 2013 #1
    Trillium233

    Trillium233 Out Of The Brooder

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    Aug 11, 2013
    Ohio
    Hello,

    I've got a silly-sounding question, so please humor me... Lately, when I've checked our nest boxes, I've occasionally found eggs and bedding with yolk splashed all over them.

    -There are no shells to be seen anywhere.
    -This happens during the day. There has never been a mess in the box first thing in the morning.
    -I'm out in our barn a lot, but I never seem to catch a chicken in the act of breaking or eating an egg.

    Could I have a hen dropping shell-less eggs for some reason? I give all our birds oystershell free-choice. I dunno... Help a newbie out?
     
  3. Aug 15, 2013 #2
    ChirpyChicks1

    ChirpyChicks1 Chillin' With My Peeps

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    You actually can have shell-less eggs. I haven't done much research on it but it can happen. Trying doing a search in the search bar near the top of the page, might find some information there.
     
    1 person likes this.
  5. Aug 15, 2013 #3
    donrae

    donrae Hopelessly Addicted Premium Member

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    Southern Oregon
    Forgetting to put the shell on is common with new layers. Do you see any thick membrane? An egg without a shell usually looks like a water balloon, and I think the birds often break them as they exit the nest. I'm not aware of anything to do about it, it usually just works itself out in a few months as the hen's system figures things out. Feed either a layer feed, or a non-layer feed and offer oyster shell or egg shells back to boost calcium.
     
    1 person likes this.
  7. Aug 16, 2013 #4
    sumi

    sumi Égalité Staff Member

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    It is quite possible that the hens laid soft shelled or shell-less eggs, but in my experience egg yolk smeared in the nest box means the egg got eaten. Whether deliberately or "accidentally", i.e. the egg broke, or it was a shell less egg and the hens went hmm, what's this and discovered it's edible. I would suggest trying some of these techniques discussed here:

    https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/six-tips-on-breaking-your-egg-eater

    Even if they haven't learned this bad habit yet, prevention is much easier than cure!
     
    1 person likes this.
  9. Aug 16, 2013 #5
    Sophia5

    Sophia5 Chillin' With My Peeps

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    1 person likes this.
  11. Aug 16, 2013 #6
    Trillium233

    Trillium233 Out Of The Brooder

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    Aug 11, 2013
    Ohio
    Thanks, all! [​IMG]

    The birds have been laying since this past December. I feed layer crumbles and always have oyster shell on available to the birds, free-choice. I'll keep an eye on things and read the links given above.
     

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