Hole in egg every time- why?

[Spizhauben]

It sounds and looks a little more involved than simply being stepped on or pecked. I’m thinking more what Jacinlarkwell said. Make sure you have some oyster shell available for your girls - maybe they have enough in the feed but won’t hurt to have some available- it’s not gonna go bad! However, I am wondering if something is glitching or damaged or something with her egg plumbing to be so consistently laying these eggs? Sorry, not sure what that might be though.

As far as eating them, is the hole a through and through? I’ll still eat an egg (collected that day and put in fridge right away) if the shell is cracked but inner membrane still intact. If it’s leaky or too dirty then I might ‘accidentally’ drop it in the coop ...

It’s definitely not all the way through. I’m thinking it’s an internal problem as well, unfortunately, because the egg is so long and it’s just that one spot that seems narrow. I like the idea of being able to salvage the egg, though!

 

[aart]

Glitchy shell gland.
Doubt it can be 'fixed', but might want to give her a special breakfast with calcium supplements like @rosemarythyme does.

 

[Acre4Me]

I’ve read that using the human “calcium citrate” supplement found in most drug stores can help.

We used it for one hen. 1crushed tablet (of the lowest dose on the shelf) into some wet feed. Feeding it for a few days. We did not keep it up long term, but it did help.

 

[Sueby]

I agree, I'd pop a calcium citrate in her for a few days & see if that helps.

There are lots of ways to get it into them, but I found the quickest/easiest for me was to just catch the one that needed it & pop it in her mouth & poke it down a little (otherwise she'd spit it out).

Some will separate the one hen & mix a crushed pill into a spoonful of yogurt but mine wouldn't eat if she was by herself.

 

[Sally PB]

I saw exactly that kind of hole in two eggs. There were always two eggs in the nest when I saw it. I'm thinking there was an egg in the nest, and the second hen pushed it under her when she went in to lay, making the hole. It wasn't through the membrane, so I ate it right away, with no ill affects.

My eggs seem to be thin shelled too. The girls would chow down on the the crushed egg shells I gave them, but I saw no evidence of them eating OS. I bought a different brand of OS, took out the egg shells, and sprinkled a little OS on their food. I also going to mix OS with yogurt for a snack 2-3 times a week.

I think the shells are better...? I just started this, so too soon to tell.

 

[Spizhauben]

I agree, I'd pop a calcium citrate in her for a few days & see if that helps.

There are lots of ways to get it into them, but I found the quickest/easiest for me was to just catch the one that needed it & pop it in her mouth & poke it down a little (otherwise she'd spit it out).

Some will separate the one hen & mix a crushed pill into a spoonful of yogurt but mine wouldn't eat if she was by herself.

This was the only one I could find and it seems huge, I wouldn’t need to crush it?

 

[Sueby]

Yep, that's it! I've seen a chicken swallow a whole frog, you'd be surprised what fits in that beak!

 

[HawaiiCoyote]

Yep, that's it! I've seen a chicken swallow a whole frog, you'd be surprised what fits in that beak!

X2, but for a giant rat!
They will eat almost anything, it's mind-boggling.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Glitchy shell gland.
Doubt it can be 'fixed', but might want to give her a special breakfast with calcium supplements like @rosemarythyme does.

The aforementioned "breakfast" -
If you know exactly which bird is the problem bird, isolate her for a private breakfast. 2-3x a week serve a small bowl (like 1 Tbsp is fine) of wet or fermented feed with oyster shell mixed in. If she does not like chunks of oyster shell, crush it up or use the powdery remnants from bottom of the bag. Should only take her minutes to eat and after that she's free to go.

Assuming her issue is simply insufficient calcium intake, you should see results in a week or two, and you can try reducing it to 1-2x a week and should hopefully continue getting good results. If you still have the same issue, then you might need to try pills of calcium citrate instead for a faster, bigger calcium boost.

That said, in this case, I'm thinking the shell gland might be the issue so adding calcium won't fix it. One of my older girls, 5 yrs old, has been having issues with her eggs cracking at the tip upon laying, along with some weird shell swirls/wrinkles in that spot - the rest of the eggshell is solid so it's not a calcium issue. I've since added more padding to the nest box (a layer of bedding, then a folded feed bag to keep it in place/add extra padding, and then the top layer of bedding) and haven't had tip breakage from her eggs since then.

 

[CHlCKEN]

The eggshell is too thin. The membrane pulls chunks with it when it shrinks because the shell is so thin.

I think this is it