malfunction in the shelling department

[MuskokaChick]

This morning I went into the coop around 7am, no eggs...my hens usually lay between 8 and 10 am.

I went back at 9:30 and collected 11 eggs from 11 hens.

This evening I went out and walked down the steps and then remember I had treats for them, came back in and went out again and one of them had just dropped an egg (shelless of course) but 12 hours later after laying?

I know this is normal, but I was surprised that at 12 hours the egg would be fully formed...just a glitch in the shelling department...or she got so excited for treats she popped it out ? *shrug*

 

[ThinkingChickens]

Not totally sure, but my BR did this the other day. She laid normally (though a little later than usual) the next day.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Here is timeline synopsis of egg formation. The egg is fully formed after 11-12 hours and shell formation takes the remainder of the time.

http://www.isapoultry.com/en/Inform...tock/Oviposition times and shell quality.ashx

It's possible that she got too excited. This topic comes up often. "Why did I get a shell-less egg?" Folks will start pimping calcium as the fix-all for every shell problem, but this problem is generally not caused by lack of nutrition. In immature birds it's possible that the shell gland hasn't developed yet. Some birds may have a defective shell gland altogether. Many times it is caused by disturbances that cause the birds to lay early. There are times when I walk through the barn at night to check on our birds, I'll double back around and notice that a bird or two has laid a soft shelled egg on the floor since my first time through.

 

[Weve3Chickens123]

I just adopted a hen from someone who had all but one of his birds picked off by predators. He did mention she had laid a shell-less egg. Could that have bee due to her flock mates meeting dismal fates? The move probably will also set her back on laying, I imagine, so how long does it take for chickens to get over these "disturbances" and get back to laying?

 

[gritsar]

Quote:
Depends on the chicken really. Some are easygoing and take disturbances in stride, some go on an egg-laying strike for months after a move or other upset.

I re-homed two very sweet, docile brahma hens along with one rooster to help a friend re-build her flock. Moved them to her house in the afternoon. They laid the next morning (not surprising, since those eggs were already on the way before the move). The surprising part was that they never missed a beat and continued to lay well without a break.