Eggs without a shell?

shareneh

In the Brooder
11 Years
Aug 2, 2008
62
2
29
North Dakota
My hens are about 20 weeks old and have been laying for about a month. This is the fourth egg I have found intact without a shell. When I pull open the egg it looks exactly like an egg with a shell. I don't know what to do. All my hens seem fine and the other eggs I have been getting have nice hard shells. Harder than store bought eggs. I was wondering if there would be something wrong with one of my hens because of this. I am worried that when she starts to make "shell" she will have problems. The eggs are layed inside the nest with the other hens' eggs.
They are given layer mix, oyster shell if they please, I pick and cut alfalfa from the field and grass for them. No chemicals or hormones are given in feed or otherwise.
They are penned in at all times and given treats of bananas, fresh corn on the cob and cantelope a couple of times a week.
I have EE, Straight Run Red and Cochin chickens. One Cornish X who lays her eggs in a nest on the floor.
 
Have they all been laying for about a month or is that when they started laying and more are still starting? It sounds like your feeding them well. My guess is it's somebody just starting to lay and she doesn't quite have everthing worked out yet. The eggs will be fine to use but, try to get to the shellless one ASAP or you could end up with bacteria in it. If you don't want to chance using it, fix it up and feed it back to the hens.
 
Farmer Kitty,

Thanks, it's a relief to know that it's a process and not a problem.
big_smile.png
 
Last year when my Deleware hens started laying I was getting shell less eggs 2 or 3 times a week. They were on layer pellets. After a couple weeks, they stopped with the shell less eggs and laid normal ones. You could try adding some oyster shell to the food.
 
I was also going to suggest that these were starter eggs. Seems pretty common for the first egg to be shell-free. Daisy laid a shell-less egg for her first go, but since then has been laying perfect, hard-shelled eggs.
 
My RIR does that all the time and I have come to expect eggs without a shell frequently. Sometimes, chickens can't create an eggshell fast enough.
 
My Leghorn chickens have been laying eggs for about 10 to 12 weeks now, and today was the 1st time we got an egg without a shell. The girls are very good, and give me about 6 eggs a week each. Based on what I read, I plan on eating the shelless egg tomorrow for breakfast. My girls are fed chicken feed in the coop, and my home made mix of 1/3 cracked corn, 1/3 sunflower seeds (their favorite) and 1/3 wheat when they are in the run mixed with a bit of oyster shell. Earlier in the summer I was using oats I grew in lieu of the wheat. In the last few days, I added sorghum to the feed now that I have been able to harvest some of the 1st seeds. Girls favorite is still when I feed them scrambled eggs once or twice a week.

On a separate note, last week the girls broke and egg in the coop and ate it. I was afraid it would be a habit, but so far it has not happened a second time.
 
One of my RSL layed a hard shell egg and two shell less eggs in one day. She was a little lethargic but after she layed the second shell less egg she was fine. She didn't lay an egg the next day though. At 7 months I've come to expect this from her sometimes.
 
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