Flaky eggs?

[LittlesNBigs]

We're not sure if it's from a single hen or not. We have three Brahmas and have been averaging 5 or 6 brahma eggs per week since winter. We've assumed they are each laying a little more than every 3rd day. The more recent egg looks just like the "banded egg" example in your link. It says it could be caused by the eggs coming through the shell gland around the same time, which may explain oddities two days in a row.

A lot of the conditions in your link indicate it could be an artificial lighting problem. Since around Halloween we've had a small light on a timer to keep the coop lit from 6am to 9pm. I'll dial that back a half hour from each end starting tomorrow and maybe again in a few days.

We're also thinking some of the speckling may be blood spots as shown in the article. We'll do a vent check tomorrow as well to see if any of them are getting raw.

Thank you everyone for the help. We'll keep updating.

 

[aart]

Since around Halloween we've had a small light on a timer to keep the coop lit from 6am to 9pm. I'll dial that back a half hour from each end starting tomorrow and maybe again in a few days.

They'll probably stop laying if you do this^^^.

I'd not worry or try to 'fix' this 'problem', homegrown eggs have many variables and anomalies. I've had a few hens over the years that laid similar funky colored eggs.

 

[LittlesNBigs]

They'll probably stop laying if you do this^^^.

I'd not worry or try to 'fix' this 'problem', homegrown eggs have many variables and anomalies. I've had a few hens over the years that laid similar funky colored eggs.

I'm not concerned about the beauty of each egg, but I'd rather rule out and avoid any health problems.

 

[LittlesNBigs]

We haven't had any other odd eggs for a few days.

We got an even more confounding egg today. It appears to be an extra large fully formed thin shell egg with a fullmsize hard shelled egg inside. When I checked the nest box, the thin shelled outer was already broken and egg white and yolk had soaked the straw.

This seems like there is something really wrong to me.

 

[Kiki]

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.

Check this out:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5803769/

 

[Kiki]

We haven't had any other odd eggs for a few days.

We got an even more confounding egg today. It appears to be an extra large fully formed thin shell egg with a fullmsize hard shelled egg inside. When I checked the nest box, the thin shelled outer was already broken and egg white and yolk had soaked the straw.

This seems like there is something really wrong to me.

What do you feed your flock on a daily basis?

 

[aart]

We haven't had any other odd eggs for a few days.

We got an even more confounding egg today. It appears to be an extra large fully formed thin shell egg with a fullmsize hard shelled egg inside. When I checked the nest box, the thin shelled outer was already broken and egg white and yolk had soaked the straw.

This seems like there is something really wrong to me.

Brown egg got eaten and the shell ended up around the lighter egg.
It probably didn't come out of the chicken that way.

 

[LittlesNBigs]

What do you feed your flock on a daily basis?

They have open access to Purina Layena 16% pellets and crushed oyster shell in the run plus whatever bugs they scavenge around the yard and we give each of them a pinch of mealworms every evening by hand.

Brown egg got eaten and the shell ended up around the lighter egg.
It probably didn't come out of the chicken that way.

That was my first thought but that seems even more curious for one of them to try wrapping up a white egg in a brown shell. The white egg was fully encapsulated in the brown before I removed them from the nesting box.

 

[LittlesNBigs]

Check this out:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5803769/

I tried to read it -- that is entirely over my head.

I have turned the lights down so they go off at 20:30 and don't come back on until 07:00. That's more dark than they get in the summer months so I hope it helps reduce any stress on them.

 

[Kiki]

I tried to read it -- that is entirely over my head.

I have turned the lights down so they go off at 20:30 and don't come back on until 07:00. That's more dark than they get in the summer months so I hope it helps reduce any stress on them.

Sorry for the confusion, I was replying directly to @Ridgerunner to show where the bloom/cuticle is applied.