Flaky eggs?

[LittlesNBigs]

We've been keeping chickens for a year now and have had our Brahmas laying for nearly 10 months. This morning for the first time one of the brahma eggs looks like it has a flakey shell. Their eggs are normally solid tan and speckled but this one has the tan peeling off.

Is this just a curiosity or should we have any concerns?

 

[azygous]

There's a very small possibility this could be an anomaly due to a virus, specifically a version of one of the respiratory viruses. But there are several benign explanations that are much more likely.

One of the most common is simple stress prior to laying the egg that can have a disruptive effect when the egg is busy in the shell gland.

Another explanation is that the hen was especially "moist with leftover poop in the cloaca as the egg was being deposited, washing off some of the color coating, which is not permanent and can be washed off in a number of ways.

It's also quite possible the color coating was rubbed off by the nesting material right after dropping from the hen's butt and further disturbed by her own activity, and possibly the activity from another hen crowding into the nest added to the degradation of the decoration.

 

[aart]

Looks like the coating did not adhere to the shell.
Is the shell good and hard?
Hopefully it's just a glitch.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Is this just a curiosity or should we have any concerns?

I don't recall ever seeing anything like that. If something strange like that happens if it is one time I consider it a glitch and do not worry about it. If it repeats then I try to figure out what is going on. If you see it again, let us know and we'll try to chase it down.

@azygous @aart Do you know where the bloom is applied? Is it in the shell gland or after it leaves? To me that looks like the bloom may have been applied early, before the pigment was deposited, so the pigment did not stick.

 

[aart]

@aart Do you know where the bloom is applied? Is it in the shell gland or after it leaves?

I do not know.
Always assumed it's applied in the uterus/shell gland.

 

[azygous]

The bloom is applied just as the egg is passed out of the cloaca. Here's the time table for stages in egg production. https://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/egg-quality-handbook/2/formation-of-the-egg

 

[nuthatched]

one of my hens lays eggs with 'bad paint jobs' they pigment comes off in a few areas when I rinse the eggs off to sell.

 

[Ridgerunner]

The bloom is applied just as the egg is passed out of the cloaca. Here's the time table for stages in egg production. https://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/egg-quality-handbook/2/formation-of-the-egg

That doesn't specifically say where the bloom is applied, shell gland or cloaca. I've read that one of the purposes of the bloom is to lubricate the egg to make it easier to lay. They specifically mentioned that was to help when the egg was positioning itself to put the fat end first as well as when it exited the body through the cloaca. To me that implies it is released in the shell gland.

I don't like to assume and I don't always believe everything I read on the internet. I was hoping some of you might know. My thought is that the shell gland is messing up and is releasing the bloom before the pigment is released causing the pigment to slough off. Just a theory.

@LittlesNBigs I don't know if this is what is happening or not. If it is I don't see how it hurts the egg at all other than it doesn't look pretty.

 

[LittlesNBigs]

The egg is fully formed and has a hard shell. Today's egg was "mispainted" differently. We've never had any glitches with the Brahma's until now.

None of them are acting differently and they all feel like a healthy weight and build.

They knocked over two nesting box dividers today though, so I suspect there might be some nesting drama happening. I'll be watching the boxes more carefully now.

 

[azygous]

Are these eggs from a single hen, do you know? If so, have you identified her? Stress is the main reason for these egg anomalies. Sometimes supplemental lighting can contribute to these strange "decorations". But there is the outside chance there's a chronic respiratory infection behind it. Watch for any signs.

Here's more info: https://www.poultryproducer.com/common-egg-quality-problems/