Laid just a yolk -- loose, not in shell?!

RoseCassFarm

In the Brooder
6 Years
Mar 23, 2013
52
2
39
Connecticut
My girl is about six months old. Until today, she was laying normal eggs. As far as I know, she even laid one today. When I went to check on them, she came running out of the coop and when I went in to check for eggs there was a warm one. Then she suddenly was standing there and there was a clear (if faintly yellow, but transparent) mucus with something pale colored (I would've said it was an egg shell but I couldn't confirm that -- one of the other girls nabbed it before I could really see) coming from her vent.

She was walking around very slowly with her tail feathers in the air looking very puffy and like she was trying to lay.

I went back to check on her an hour or two later and she was crouched in the corner of the run. I was actually able to approach her (which isn't usually the case; she's always been flighty) and when she stood up, there was just a yolk on the ground.

I brought her inside and put her in a cage while I did some research and tried to figure this out. She had her tail feathers up in the air and still seemed like she was trying to lay. I gave her some food and water that she's been having here and there.

I went to the store to get her some yogurt in case it was a yeast infection and came back an hour later and she had her tail feathers drooping down. She's still drinking but I'm worried. (wait..now tail feathers up...arg!!!)

They have free access to unlimited oyster shells, she's been laying normally until now (though a little spotty in color, if that matters). She's an Easter Egger. They've been allowed to roam in a slightly larger portion of my yard lately. I've also been feeding them peaches from our trees and some were a little mushy with some brown spots, so I don't know if it might be caused by one going moldy?

Thoughts???
 
She is probably alright after laying the shell-less egg. You can always get a rubber glove, lubricate a finger, and insert it an inch and a half into the vent to gently check for any egg contents that need to come out, but she has probably passed it. Give her some extra calcium in her diet (crushed oystershell or crushed egg shells,) in addition to her layer feed. You could give her a calcium tablet or Tums today crushed in her food. If this become more frequent, she might have problems with egg bound or internal laying, but many chickens will do this occasionally. I have witnessed one of mine doing it.
 
I agree. I get about 3 shell-less eggs a year from my girls. It is a mess, but not unusual or dangerous usually.
 
Does it usually happen that you'll just find a yolk like that? I was trying to research about shell-less eggs and found that most people were talking about eggs that were essentially in tact just lacking the shell. This was very loose.
 
Yes, sometimes the membrane is missing and the white runs away and leaves the yolk sitting there. Other times, the membrane is intact and it is like a big jelly ball.
 

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