Hen no longer laying after weird bloody yolk sac

[ruriksson]

Hi All. One of my hens laid a strange looking bloody sac (at first I thought it was some animal's heart). When I poke it with a stick, there was a yolk inside but no white or shell. Unfortunately, by the time I returned with my phone to take a picture, the dog had eaten it.

Does anyone know what this was? I've looked at anatomical drawings of the egg cycle and can't figure out what this sac was. It was rather thick and took some force to break out when I poke it with the stick. I don't see it in the common egg problems websites either.

In any case, this hen hasn't laid since. I see her sitting in the nest box sometimes, but no eggs from her for the last month or so. Is this a common occurance that will sort itself or should I retire her? She was a prolific layer; a large egg almost everyday. She's a 55-Flowery.

Thanks for your input.

 

[ruriksson]

It looked somewhat like this. But the membrane around the yolk was much thicker and there were bits of tissue and sinew attached to the membrane. It was no perfectly spherical. As I said, I thought it looked like a heart.