No shell on egg?

[cjkleck]

So I just watched one of my girls lay an egg that had no shell! What does this mean. I collected 12 other "normal" eggs today. Thankfully she wasn't in the nesting box because I don't want the others to start pecking their own eggs!

 

[Ridgerunner]

There are some different things that can cause that. You can look through this if you wish.

Egg Quality Handbook
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/ourbooks/1/egg-quality-handbook/

When pullets first start to lay it’s not unusual for them to take some time to get the kinks out of their internal egg making factory. It’s just a glitch and most quickly straighten it out. From your post I’m guessing yours are older than that but I’ll mention it.

Sometimes an older hen accidentally releases two yolks instead of one. If they are released at the same time, you might get a double yolked egg. If they are separated a bit in time the first egg might be normal but the shell gland might have used all its material for the day and have nothing left to put on the second egg. You can get a shell-less or extremely thin-shelled egg when this happens. If it is a rare occurrence it’s not a big deal, we all have a hick-up occasionally. If it is consistent, that is not good.

The last part of the egg’s journey through that hen’s egg making factory is the shell gland, that’s where the hard shell is put on. If something stresses the hen she may pop out that egg before the shell is put on. Since the brown color is the last thing a brown egg layer puts on in the shell gland, this can be the reason for a white egg from a brown egg layer. Or you might get a shell-less or really thin-shelled egg. Again, if it is a rare occurrence not a big deal. If it is regular, something could be wrong.

If it’s a one time thing, don’t worry about it. If you see things like this regularly, you need to dig into it.

Good luck!

 

[cjkleck]

Ok. So we just got the chickens a little over 2 weeks ago. Today is day 5 of them laying. They are approximately 1.5 years old. Give or take as previous owner hatched his own eggs. I have no idea if this is a one time thing as I just happened to be out there watching and saw this! I think it may have happened before because all the other chickens were right behind her waiting! At least it seemed like that!

 

[Ridgerunner]

If she is doing that regularly, yeah, that is a problem. There is just something wrong with her egg factory, probably genetic. If you have a problem with one hen, you have a hen problem. If the problem is across the flock, you have a flock problem. If the eggs the other hens lay are OK you don’t have a flock problem. It’s the individual.

I don’t know how you are feeding them calcium but it sounds like her body is not absorbing and using the calcium she’s eating, at least not for egg shells. If she is consistently laying eggs like that she is not doing you any good, you are just paying for feed to feed her. And she could teach the others to eat eggs. I’d permanently remove her from the flock, soon.

 

[cjkleck]

They do have free choice of oyster shells available all the time. I will give her a few more days. It's hard because if I don't see her laying I won't know if she keeps doing it

 

[aart]

You could separate her for a few days, using a large wire dog crate in the coop or putting up some mesh fencing.
You want her to stay in sight of the other birds to avoid re-integration issues.

 

[cjkleck]

Ok. Tha ks for the advice. Much appreciated