Fairy Eggs 3 days in a row??....

[sca001]

We have a cream legbar hen that has been laying fairy eggs for the last few days. She is about 10-11 months old and has always laid very large eggs from the start. Her health seems fine and nothing has changed recently (except it is spring now) that would cause her any stress. I cracked open all 3 of the eggs and found a little speck of something in each of them. Any ideas why this is happening?

 

[azygous]

Then she has a very natural day and night cycle.

She's a young layer and this isn't uncommon with them. The cause is a brief interruption of hormones, causing the yolks not to be released. Instead, a tiny piece of tissue from her reproductive tract gets egg white and a shell and you have a fake egg.

It will likely self correct as her body gets more regular with her hormones. But if you're concerned and she lays a few more of these in lieu of real eggs, try one calcium tablet and give her some tofu to eat. The calcium can encourage her reproductive system to get with the program and the tofu can provide a little estrogen boost, perhaps tilting things in favor of ovulation again.

 

[azygous]

For some reason, her ovulation has been disrupted. This is not uncommon in much older hens or when a hen is approaching molt, but to have this in spring in a fresh layer, it doesn't bode well.

If you have an avian vet in your area, this would be worth running by them.

Is she under supplemental light by some chance? Or just natural day light with dark at night? Is she permitted outdoor time in direct sunlight for some of the day? Is she getting access to oyster shell?

 

[sca001]

For some reason, her ovulation has been disrupted. This is not uncommon in much older hens or when a hen is approaching molt, but to have this in spring in a fresh layer, it doesn't bode well.

If you have an avian vet in your area, this would be worth running by them.

Is she under supplemental light by some chance? Or just natural day light with dark at night? Is she permitted outdoor time in direct sunlight for some of the day? Is she getting access to oyster shell?

Hi azygous, she is under supplemental light since the coop doesn’t get great outdoor light coming through to the inside. The flock free ranges from 7am to 7pm everyday. They get plenty of sunlight everyday. They also do have access to oyster shells in their coop as they desire. I don’t have an avian vet in the area that I know of. I can do a search and see what I find. Thank you for the quick reply! I am hoping she is okay!

 

[azygous]

Do you mean she has light all night as well as all day? Or the coop is just lighted in the day to keep it from being so dim?

 

[sca001]

Update: She laid 3 fairy eggs in a row and now she hasn’t laid at all for the last 2 days. Her health still seems normal. She is eating plenty of food and oyster shells. Could the change in season be a potential cause? My other legbars have slowed their production as well. My Black Sexlinks, on the other hand, have not slowed down at all.

 

[sca001]

Do you mean she has light all night as well as all day? Or the coop is just lighted in the day to keep it from being so dim?

It is only lit during day light hours.

 

[Madhouse Pullet]

Learning something new! Very interesting this is going on, following to find out what happens. I hope your issue resolves, wish you the best of luck!

 

[Romaana]

Hi @sca001 can you please update us about what happened to your hen. I am going through a similar situation with a hen of mine for the past 2 months.

 

[sca001]

Hi @sca001 can you please update us about what happened to your hen. I am going through a similar situation with a hen of mine for the past 2 months.

We took her to our local Avian Vet for a checkup and we’re told her belly was filling up with the missing yolks. She was a big hen compared to the others in the flock and this was the reason behind it. Unfortunately, the vet suggested euthanizing as she was going to die from the pressure anyways. I really hope you don’t have your hen going through the same problem!