Laying NOT an egg---a gizzard???

[dragonfly22]

One of our three hens laid something very strange yesterday. No shell at all, it was just a smear of yolk and egg white, coating a chunk of flesh that is about walnut-sized, with a smaller chunk (raisin sized), as well. The big piece kind of looks like a gizzard??? We have never had any roosters, so this can't be a baby chicken. Can they pass a uterine cyst or something?

It's probably one of our two 2 year-old Rhode Island Reds, because there was a clean blue Aracauna egg from our other hen in the other nest box. All three chickens seem 100% fine. The Reds' droppings are white and green (they're outside eating greens alot right now).

No info about this kind of thing anywhere that I could find. Has anyone else ever seen anything like this? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

[TexasVet]

Don't panic, chickens lay strange eggs all the time. I've had a couple that looked like they contained pieces of cooked hamburger meat. It's most likely just a reproductive anomoly that will pass.

Check out my "funky eggs" page to see some more wierd possibilities.. http://www.countrychickens.com/country_chickens_4_008.htm

Kathy, Bellville TX
www.CountryChickens.com

 

[threehorses]

Agreed that occassionally they will lay some funky eggs!

Just to make sure, could you tell us what you're feeding your gals - including any supplementation? It would be nice to make sure that the shell-less egg isn't going to become a problem.

Added later: KHayward, great site!! I was amazed at some of those eggs.

I wish now I had a photo of an egg I found earlier this year (when I was slacking on oyster shell). It was an egg that only had a soft spot on one side, every time. The rest of the egg was normal. I had to freshen up my oyster shell supply after that - thankfully she never held an egg inside.

But these funky eggs - neat! Scary, but neat! Also am going to enjoy sniffing around the links and other neat things you show.

 

[redhen]

I had that happen to me last year! Everyone was fine..it was really weird though..

 

[dragonfly22]

Thanks for all the replies and reassurances!

The "pieces of cooked hamburger meat" is closest, but this is way weirder than anything on Kathy's funky egg page! Here's a photo:
http://stevedrakewisc.jalbum.net/2009 08 02/
It almost looks like placenta.

No more weird eggs or any laying from either of the Red girls since the Awful Non Egg Incident. (Sara, the Aracauna hen continues to lay clean, solid eggs.) I can only think that it's something to do with the low calcium levels that they came to us with, since they have laid soft and broken eggs before. Now, we've been mixing more calcium directly into their grain so they will end up eating more of it.

They get an 18% protein organic grain mix (soy, corn, wheat, amaranth, flax, etc.), plus treats like bread, veggies, fruit, noodles, veggie burger scraps, the occasional morsel of canned cat food, and, of course, the oyster shell calcium and grit. We do try to give them calcium water, but they have plain water, too. They eat lots of whatever is growing or crawling in the yard, out in their tractor for at least 4 hours a day and more like 12 hours on the weekends.

Marina, Lower Rock River Basin, Yahara River and Lake Kegonsa Watershed, Wisconsin
http://earthsip.blogspot.com/