Well, I've had soft shells and even no shell eggs. This was quite an experience though - last night, when I called the girls to bed with their scratch, Ladybird the RIR was unusually slow and just waddled along slowly. Once I got them in, she didn't eat (and she is the greediest!) but hunched down at the end of the run. I thought she was sick. Then she crouched a little more and pooped. It was small and white. She turned round, pecked a bit of it off and ate it! And then the other 3 girls rushed over and squabbled over the rest. Hmmm, I thought, not poop then! I couldn't get in amongst the rucus to get a closer look at it.
So Ladybird comes over for some scratch and a couple of mintes later, goes back into the hunch down position. This time - out pops an egg! Only with the rubbery membrane on it. It bounced in the sand! Again, the girls all rushed at it and I am sure would have eaten it if I hadn't got to it first. It sure felt wierd.
I opened it up later and it's a normal egg. Come to think of it, 2-3 weeks ago I found the remains of yellow yolk on their straw under the roosts. So I guess they have learnt that a shell-less egg can be eaten.... Previously, I would get the odd no-shell one off the roost and, even when the membrane had split on impact, there was never sign of it being eaten.
I'm not worried - happens from time to time and they are all eating shell grit. If I get too many in a short period, I'll add a little liquid calcium to their mash.
Just thought I'd share this odd experience with y'all!
So Ladybird comes over for some scratch and a couple of mintes later, goes back into the hunch down position. This time - out pops an egg! Only with the rubbery membrane on it. It bounced in the sand! Again, the girls all rushed at it and I am sure would have eaten it if I hadn't got to it first. It sure felt wierd.
I opened it up later and it's a normal egg. Come to think of it, 2-3 weeks ago I found the remains of yellow yolk on their straw under the roosts. So I guess they have learnt that a shell-less egg can be eaten.... Previously, I would get the odd no-shell one off the roost and, even when the membrane had split on impact, there was never sign of it being eaten.
I'm not worried - happens from time to time and they are all eating shell grit. If I get too many in a short period, I'll add a little liquid calcium to their mash.
Just thought I'd share this odd experience with y'all!
