I Need Help Identifying What This Is - I Found It In The Nesting Box

[Mickey76]

Hello,

I joined this awesome website a few months ago, and I planned on my first post being something really nice. However, life has been busy and I didn't make that first post yet, and now I need help. Sorry!

Short background: My wife, kids, and I purchased a new home in May from some friends of ours. They were nice enough to leave their chickens for us. We jumped right into caring for the chickens, and they quickly became members of our family. We've had no problems whatsoever (other than fighting off predators, but we're winning that war), and we're currently in the process of remodeling/expanding their coop. They have given us great tasting eggs since day one.

However, last night as I was locking-up their coop and doing my nightly routine of checking all the areas of the coop/run to make sure all was well, I found something disturbing in one of the nesting boxes. I will post the pictures in the comments so that they do not appear in the thread (I hope that's correct - due to this being a family site, children may not want to see the pics). It should be noted (as seen in one of the pics), that what I found was laying right next to what looks like "yoke". There wasn't anything else in the box, like a shell or anything. None of the hens (7 of them) were acting funny last night, or this morning when I let them out. Other than what I found in the box, all seems normal and well. I truly hope that somebody can identify this, and tell me it's "normal," and that there's nothing to worry about!

Thanks in advance for any info you can give me about this - and I promise to make that "nice post" as soon as I can - showcasing our beautiful birds and their little home that we're remodeling for them. I've taken work-in-progress photos during the entire process. ;-)

 

[Mickey76]

 

[carlf]

It looks like an incompletely formed egg.
If its just a one time thing, no big deal.
But if it keeps happening, the hen has some sort of health issue.
Are you providing oyster shell and layer feed?

 

[Mickey76]

Thanks for your reply!

We give them a layer feed, plus they free-range all day. I plan on supplementing with oyster shells but haven't started yet. Will start that as soon as the coop remodel is done.

 

[carlf]

Don't wait, if you've had them since May and they haven't had oyster shell or other calcium supplement since then, this is a sign they might (might) be calcium deficient.
Are their "regular" eggs thin shelled or normal?

You can also crush eggshells and feed them back to them. I bake my empty shells at 350 for 10 minutes to sterilize them after sitting on the counter all week, also make them easier to crush.

 

[Mickey76]

Yes, their regular eggs are normal, not thin-shelled. And I do occasionally crush the egg shells and fee them to the chickens. I also don't think the previous owners fed oyster shells (but I'll ask them). I will definitely take your advice and start feeding the oyster shells asap.

By the look and texture of what I found, I was concerned that it was an actual part of the inside of the hen that came out. It certainly doesn't look/feel like an unformed egg - but I certainly hope you're correct!

 

[carlf]

If it were part of her insides she be dead!

 

[aart]

Looks like maybe a part of a soft shelled egg... and a 'lash egg'...which could indicate an infection in the reproductive system.
The long, solid looking part in lower right of last pic...if you still have it, cut into that and take some pics.
Search on 'lash eggs' for more examples.