Frequent double yolker laid two eggs today, one shell-less

[maryn7]

This girl is motivated. She laid first of her sisters, she's laid multiple-double yolkers, and has laid two soft shells from the roost. She's been laying for a month today, and it seemed like she was finally to a place of working it all out.

Today she was in the egg box at 7:45a, and laid fine. They were out for their evening "ladies time" in the yard, and when we went to put her to bed at about 7p, she was walking like she needed to lay. We got a calcium pill for her, but realized she'd laid a totally shell-less egg on the ground in front of the coop before we could get back out to the run.

It's 100% membrane-only (she lays blue eggs) and totally intact, and she was happy to go to bed after that.

We're going to do the 'calcium pills for a week' routine, and I know it just takes them a while to get settled. Maybe this was just a double yolk that didn't make it down the shoot at the same time?

My very first laying pullet two years ago was also my very first sick and, then, dead-the-same-day chicken, just 10 days after her first egg. So I'm always worried about getting them over this hump into regular lay. So just making sure there's else I should be doing/looking for, other than the typical. Thanks!

(Included - for science - me squishing the egg.) (Later experiments: I did not know they bounce............!)

 

[azygous]

Yes, those shell-less eggs feel irresistibly squishy. I had one yesterday.

You're doing well to give her calcium tablets for a week. It just may be enough to settle her egg cycle into one yolk per. Hopefully, it'll cure the double yolkers as well since that habit can result in eggs too large for the oviduct to handle, and the future would likely include egg binding at some point.

 

[maryn7]

Great - thanks for the reply. I did nearly call the calcium pill routine the "azygous method" btw.

I would love it if the calcium helped her better regulate - I think she's just sending down too many yolks per 24-hour period, and it's bound to catch up with her at some point. The shell quality on the first egg was good - I ate it just this morning.