Eggs getting weirder...

[MalMom]

I have one hen who is laying really odd eggs. The shell isn't smooth and it is getting longer and more ovular. It's to the point the egg doesn't fit right in a carton anymore. I'm not sure which hen is laying it, we have three RIRs and one BR that lay brown eggs.

 

[ChickonLand]

How many eggs have you gotten like that? Is the shell still strong?

 

[MalMom]

It's been going on for several weeks now with the egg getting longer and longer. The shells are strong, they have access to oyster shells, they are fed 16% layer pellets, and free range most of the day.

 

[MalMom]

One of our hens did lay a double yoked egg maybe a month and a half ago. These started showing up after that.

 

[MalMom]

Today's egg. I have it narrowed down to two of our RIRs, but I'm about 90% sure I know which one. I'm going to separate them tomorrow, putting the one I think it is in a separate pen.

 

[Kusanar]

Curious, have they been wormed? I'm not an expert by any means, but I have read that the worms can damage the egg laying tract and I would assume that if that happened, that it could cause weird shells...

 

[MalMom]

They have not, thank you for the suggestion. Is DE okay for worming?

 

[Kusanar]

They have not, thank you for the suggestion. Is DE okay for worming?

DE is debatable, some people say that it works wonders, but I would be hesitant to say that it would do more than work as a preventative. I don't think it will work to remove bugs the birds already have but it may work in a dust bath.
I don't have enough experience to tell you what to use, but there are threads on here you could search to find out. But DE will most likely not do anything for worms.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

They have not, thank you for the suggestion. Is DE okay for worming?

Hi.

I'm in the anti DE camp for many reasons. But that aside, it is NOT effective as a wormer. And is stated so according to studies cited even on the bottom of the Wikipedia page.

IF you decide to worm, I highly suggest getting a fecal float done at the vet, usually around $15, and they can tell you your species count and load... so that you can be sure to use the RIGHT wormer since they don't all treat everything. Hate to worm for the wrong species, waste of time,energy, and money.

Here is an article about egg shell quality. I see some wrinkled ones there. But everything has a disease as a possible reason... just don't jump to conclusions and use the information that seems pertinent to you.

Double yolkers are normal for hens or pullets just coming into or returning to lay. It seems to just be a hiccup of the system starting up most of the time..

You could also paint the vent of the one you think it is with food coloring. It should leave that color streak on the egg when laid. Just don't use red as it attracts pecking.

ETA: the link... https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

 

[MalMom]

Thanks guys. I'm 98% positive I know who is laying the egg. I have her separated today while she lays. She was in the nest box when I checked a bit ago and was just singing the egg song, so I went to check and she hadn't laid yet. Silly girl.
I love my hens and take good care of them, but at the end of the day they are livestock. We need to cull down our hens anyway and as soon as I know for sure who is laying the weird egg, we will probably add her to the cull list. We are slowly transitioning from chickens to ducks and we have some chicks that will be laying soon. We don't want to over crowd them, so we need to make some room. Such is the circle of life I suppose.