Oblong Eggs

[Cdumar]

Has anyone ever dealt with this or seen this…
I have a chicken who got pretty beat up this past winter, I brought her in and rehabbed her and successfully returned her to the flock after a long reintroduction. When she started finally laying eggs again they were an oblong shape with a thinner shell. I attributed this to malnutrition at first and have waited several months to see what would progress. She looks and acts perfectly healthy now, regained her weight, hangs with all the other chickens without any issue, but continues to lay these oddly shaped/large oblong, pale colored and slightly thin shelled eggs. The others are the same breed and lay smaller, darker eggs consistently. She has always had a lighter colored egg but the shape has definitely changed. We have been eating the eggs, no sign of anything off with it once cracked. This has gone on since at least March.
Thoughts?

 

[pinewoodacres]

That one looks like a double yolker to me. Have any of the others been? I have a hen who has always laid a more oblong egg. I’m not sure what to make of your situation if you’re always seeing these and it’s something new.

 

[Duckduckchicken32]

What breed? Our astrolorp has the same problem.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Has anyone ever dealt with this or seen this…
I have a chicken who got pretty beat up this past winter, I brought her in and rehabbed her and successfully returned her to the flock after a long reintroduction. When she started finally laying eggs again they were an oblong shape with a thinner shell. I attributed this to malnutrition at first and have waited several months to see what would progress. She looks and acts perfectly healthy now, regained her weight, hangs with all the other chickens without any issue, but continues to lay these oddly shaped/large oblong, pale colored and slightly thin shelled eggs. The others are the same breed and lay smaller, darker eggs consistently. She has always had a lighter colored egg but the shape has definitely changed. We have been eating the eggs, no sign of anything off with it once cracked. This has gone on since at least March.
Thoughts?

If she's able to successfully lay the egg, it's good.

Hard to know exactly what's going on here, but if her shells are not very hard, try giving her 1 Calcium Citrate tablet once a day for a week, see if that makes a difference. If it does, then ensure that she has access to oyster shell.
She may need extra calcium periodically throughout her life.

Getting beat up, she may have been unwell. Could be some type of reproductive issue going on. I would not worry about the shape of the egg unless she starts having other issues.

 

[Cdumar]

That one looks like a double yolker to me. Have any of the others been? I have a hen who has always laid a more oblong egg. I’m not sure what to make of your situation if you’re always seeing these and it’s something new.

Nope, no double yolkers. It’s been happening since she recovered from her injuries this winter. So she’s been laying this shape for a few months now.

 

[pinewoodacres]

I agree with Wyorp Rock that some kind of reproductive issue may have occurred if she was injured or unwell for awhile. Could have permanently changed something inside her. But if she is laying and not having any issues, I would be curious (as is my nature) but not concerned.

 

[Cdumar]

If she's able to successfully lay the egg, it's good.

Hard to know exactly what's going on here, but if her shells are not very hard, try giving her 1 Calcium Citrate tablet once a day for a week, see if that makes a difference. If it does, then ensure that she has access to oyster shell.
She may need extra calcium periodically throughout her life.

Getting beat up, she may have been unwell. Could be some type of reproductive issue going on. I would not worry about the shape of the egg unless she starts having other issues.

Awesome. Thank you. I’ll give that a try!

 

[Cdumar]

I agree with Wyorp Rock that some kind of reproductive issue may have occurred if she was injured or unwell for awhile. Could have permanently changed something inside her. But if she is laying and not having any issues, I would be curious (as is my nature) but not concerned.

Awesome! Thank you for the reassurance.

She was definitely quite unwell for a while, I honestly didn’t think she would live but was pleasantly surprised- and surprised that we got her fully reintegrated with the flock, bc that was definitely a struggle and took several weeks of work.
But yeah, to your point, everything otherwise seems good, and has been for some time now
I’m going to try the calcium just to see if I can harden up the shells.

 

[Cdumar]

Awesome. Thank you. I’ll give that a try!

Quick question- what dose of calcium would you give?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

1 Calcium Citrate tablet once a day for a week

Quick question- what dose of calcium would you give?

I tablet daily for a week. Just pop the pill into her beak and let her swallow.