Shell-less Egg? Finding the Cause and Remedying

[Then I Will]

My Sumatra began laying about a week ago. At first it was two eggs a day, now just one. Last three days I've seen bit of yolk dribbled about here and there and knew that a shell-less egg must have broken.

This morning I found this:

While I've had the occasional shell-less egg before, it was always after stress- dog chasing, hawk swooping in on a chicken, etc. The unusual shape of this specimen makes me think one of my birds has a tract problem.

I'm going to start introducing extra calcium into their diet by way of crushed eggshells ASAP. All of the birds appear to be in good health and it's hard to spot the one on the bottom of the pecking order.

Anybody have knowledge on why a shell-less egg would look like this?
(Other pics show the condition of the coop and my Happy Salmon Favarolles hen who has been laying consistently- eggs with nice shells. I'm so happy she fits in my deluxe nest box too.)

 

[Rickba]

That's normal for a new layer. Soft eggs, small eggs and funny shaped eggs is normal for new layers. Their bodies have to adapt to laying an get the calcium to the right place. Don't fret it'll work out. If you have a good layer feed and putting oyster shell out you're doing fine. I wouldn't recommend crushed egg shells. I've seen hens get used to eating egg shells start to peck apart their eggs soon as they lay 'em. Go oyster shells.

 

[Dawnclucks22]

Wonky eggs are perfectly normal for newbies.

 

[Dawnclucks22]

And your Faverolle is very pretty too!

 

[rebrascora]

It can be normal for them to have "anomalies" with their first eggs until their system gets into gear. The fact that she was laying 2 a day initially suggests there are some kinks that need ironing out but hopefully she will sort herself out. The unusual shape of that shell less egg is nothing to be overly concerned about at this stage. That said the Sumatra up on the perch in the photo of your coop looks a little full in the crop department. It may just be the way she is roosting but I would check her out just to be sure.

PS. I love your repurposed nesting boxes. Simply gorgeous!

 

[Then I Will]

Thanks. I've always crushed my toasted egg shells down to powder with a mortar and pestle and never had this problem! I also mix the eggshell powder into the feed- whereas I used to sprinkle it on the ground with the other grit.

I was hoping this was only because they are newbs at laying- but I'd honestly never seen one so elongated like this! It is winter time and so there nothing green to forage on.

Yesterday I did mince up some boiled chicken innards and end of parsnips, carrots, and celery ends that were cut away from what went into the soup pot. They love the little treats like that now.

 

[lazy gardener]

Give the egg shells in larger pieces so they don't pass through their system as quickly. I simply toss the shells on the ground, give them a stamp with my foot, and walk away. No need to heat sterilize them if they are from your own flock. What are you using for your normal feed ration? What is the mill date of it? You can also sprout whole grains for them. I buy Barley (feed grade) by the 50# bag, but you could buy a couple pounds of whole wheat at the health food store, or green lentils, and sprout them for instant greens.

 

[FirstTimeClucky]

Keep a close eye on your pullet. I just about lost my Siklie pullet a week ago, after she laid a shell-less egg. She had been laying for about a month. She has oyster shell grit and is on a good quality layer feed. I give my chickens greens mixed with calcium supplement every day as a precaution, but she had been refusing the greens for a few days. About 3 days after she laid the shell-less egg I found her lying at the bottom of her pen, I thought she was dead. She was fine the night before. I picked her up and she was still alive but so weak she couldn't lift her head. I immediately dissolved crushed Tums tablets in water and force fed it to her by syringe. I checked her internally with a surgical glove to see if she had any stuck eggs, but found nothing. Within a couple of hours she was up and walking again but still weak. I gave her more of the Tums mix every couple of hours and by the end of the day she recovered and began behaving normally again.

Then next day she was down again, this time with smelly yellow diarrhea. She had laid another shell-less egg which had burst inside her and started to rot. The "diarrhea" was her trying to pass the rotted egg. Eggs without shells are much harder for them to pass. I syringed warm saline water into her vent to flush out the remains of the rotten egg, and she survived. She could easily have died from egg peritonitis.

Moral of the story: when they lay shell-less eggs it's usually minor, but sometimes there are complications which can kill them very fast. Give them extra calcium and keep an eye on them for a few days.

 

[rebrascora]

No need to grind the egg shells up to a powder, just crush them in your hands and I wouldn't mix it into their feed. Better to let them get what they need when they need it. If you already feed them layer feed then adding extra calcium to their feed could be detrimental.
Just like when you are thirsty, you know that you need to have a drink, they know when they need calcium and will find it and ingest it, so as long as you provide a source of it, they will take what they need.

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

Give the egg shells in larger pieces so they don't pass through their system as quickly. I simply toss the shells on the ground, give them a stamp with my foot, and walk away. No need to heat sterilize them if they are from your own flock. What are you using for your normal feed ration? What is the mill date of it? You can also sprout whole grains for them. I buy Barley (feed grade) by the 50# bag, but you could buy a couple pounds of whole wheat at the health food store, or green lentils, and sprout them for instant greens.

LG, what method do you follow in sprouting the lentils?