Hole in eggs??

[Jenessa_09]

So one of my hens is some sort of mix and I posted a photo of her which I will attach here lays a cream colored egg. Over the past few days her eggs have been getting holes on the top. They don’t leak out if I flip them over, is she pecking at them??

 

[Cecisflock]

Yes that looks like a peck hole. May not be getting enough calcium

 

[Jenessa_09]

Yes that looks like a peck hole. May not be getting enough calcium

I give them a blend of mealworms everyday before bed and she is on top of the pecking order!

 

[orloffer]

I give them a blend of mealworms everyday before bed and she is on top of the pecking order!

Do you provide them with crushed oyster shell? Mealworms provide lots of protein, but not calcium.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Do you think it looks like this?

https://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/egg-quality-handbook/22/pinholes

Over the past few days her eggs have been getting holes on the top.

How often have you actually seen this? Is it always right in the top? How thick is the shell when you crack them?

The Egg Quality Handbook is pretty much written for commercial egg producers, that's why some of that stuff is written that way. Don't read too much into that.

The fat end of the egg is the first part that comes out when it is laid and the hen raises up a bit when she lays it. Not a lot, but up some. If it were a relatively rare occurrence I might suggest it is hitting something as it falls. But not if it is a regular occurrence. Maybe check the nest for nails or screws sticking out. That is not a pimple from excess calcium being knocked off. The shell looks like it is still there, just bent down, and the membrane is not broken, so you don't have an egg eater.

The hens walk on the eggs when they get on and off the nest. Especially if the shell is thin that could be a puncture from a toenail. It does look like it could have been pecked, maybe to move the egg around. I've seen a hen peck an egg before when she is trying to move it under her.

I'm not sure what is going on.

 

[Jenessa_09]

Do you think it looks like this?

https://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/egg-quality-handbook/22/pinholes


How often have you actually seen this? Is it always right in the top? How thick is the shell when you crack them?

The Egg Quality Handbook is pretty much written for commercial egg producers, that's why some of that stuff is written that way. Don't read too much into that.

The fat end of the egg is the first part that comes out when it is laid and the hen raises up a bit when she lays it. Not a lot, but up some. If it were a relatively rare occurrence I might suggest it is hitting something as it falls. But not if it is a regular occurrence. Maybe check the nest for nails or screws sticking out. That is not a pimple from excess calcium being knocked off. The shell looks like it is still there, just bent down, and the membrane is not broken, so you don't have an egg eater.

The hens walk on the eggs when they get on and off the nest. Especially if the shell is thin that could be a puncture from a toenail. It does look like it could have been pecked, maybe to move the egg around. I've seen a hen peck an egg before when she is trying to move it under her.

I'm not sure what is going on.

I can’t see the photo you are trying to show me and I’ve just been these eggs the past two days. The Shell is not to thin but not thick either. Yeah I have seen multiple hens go into the boxes while she’s , maybe they are fighting.

 

[Cecisflock]

I give them a blend of mealworms everyday before bed and she is on top of the pecking order!

Mealworms don't have a lot of calcium. Oyster shells and layer pellets

 

[Jenessa_09]

Mealworms don't have a lot of calcium. Oyster shells and layer pellets

Ah that’s protein, but I think I may have figured it out, my mom has been buying different feed got them. Could that be it?

 

[GC-Raptor]

Over the past few days her eggs have been getting holes on the top. They don’t leak out if I flip them over, is she pecking at them??

I got some eggs like that with my first Flock.
I used straw and was stingy with how much I put in the nests.

The egg hit the floor of nest and got a hole just like your egg.
When I added more straw, so I couldn't see the floor, the holes stopped happening.

I use pine shavings now 3 to 4 inches deep.

GC

 

[GC-Raptor]

Ah that’s protein, but I think I may have figured it out, my mom has been buying different feed got them. Could that be it?

Post a picture of the tag on bottom of feed bag. GC