Potential Threat

[Alumian]

Hi everyone, this morning when my mum went out to let the chickens out of their coop, she found an egg after one of the chickens was making a strange noise. The egg was very strange as is seen below:

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As you can see clearly, the bottom has been eaten out, and the yolk, drained. We are not sure if she has laid a mutant egg or if this is a predator. We are also considering that this may just be a malformed egg (this has never happened before). Our chicken seemed lethargic and she wasn't eating, she also seemed kind of pale. The egg is at least one day old (since my mum found water in it from the rain yesterday) and the shell is abnormally soft, It also has a slight discoloration at the bottom, it seems more pale than an egg usually is. Could it be a predator or a health issue? Any ideas?

 

[Sir Birdaholic]

Looks to me, she might have eaten her own egg. It's fairly common.

 

[Alumian]

Oh, ok, so theres nothing I should be worried about? No snakes lurking under the chook house?

 

[ranchhand]

Looks like a defective egg to me. It was too soft and someone spotted it and ate the inside parts. I would recommend keeping an eye on that hen after a thorough examination. She may be starting to have laying issues.

 

[Imp]

Welcome from Washington

If it is egg eating, and I agree with mr. bird, that it probably is egg eating, you need to worry that it might continue. You could end up with no eggs and it can be a hard habit to break.

Imp- collect those eggs often

 

[Alumian]

Oh dear, Alright thanks guys =S

 

[ranchhand]

Quote:
Snakes eat/swallow the whole egg.

The fact that the hen is not behaving normally is a clue to it not being a predator.

 

[Alumian]

I see

 

[Desert Rooster]

are your chickens getting enough calcium???? lack of calcium will cause soft eggs

 

[Alumian]

Hmm, i'm not entirely sure on that one, we just feed them a scratch mix that we get up at the local pet shop, along with any scraps that we don't want, such as some watermelon, tomatoes and so on.