squashed egg

[shstein24]

Recently, I have found squashed eggs in the nesting box. I have found two, at least a wk apart & my sister in law found one. She said hers was a white egg & mine were both brown. Is this from lack of calcium? We feed with layer feed & also add small scoops of oyster shell. Is there something I'm missing or could this be a sign of something else? We're pretty new at this...

 

[justplainbatty]

Recently, I have found squashed eggs in the nesting box. I have found two, at least a wk apart & my sister in law found one. She said hers was a white egg & mine were both brown. Is this from lack of calcium? We feed with layer feed & also add small scoops of oyster shell. Is there something I'm missing or could this be a sign of something else? We're pretty new at this...

Sounds like egg eating. Once they break and egg and discover the yummy stuff inside....well it can turn into a bad habit. Just try to collect your eggs earlier/more often. You can use the search bar at the top of the page on how to break the habit if it becomes one.

 

[shstein24]

The yoke and everything is there, just the shell is flattened like a pancake. I was over first thing in the am, just after sunrise and it was there. There was a second egg in the same nest that was just fine.

 

[justplainbatty]

The yoke and everything is there, just the shell is flattened like a pancake. I was over first thing in the am, just after sunrise and it was there. There was a second egg in the same nest that was just fine.

That is weird. It sounds like they are getting enough calcium. Is the broken shell as thick or strong as shells from other eggs? If not there is some deficiency in the one hen. Do you have a really heavy breed hen in there that just might be a total clutz? I've had a careless rooster that jumped in the nest box and broke eggs once in a while.

I don't know what else to think about it at the moment......

 

[mortie]

It could could also just be a freak soft shell egg and not a sign of a deficiency at all in any bird. Everyone is always quick to say "more calcium" but sometimes these things just happen. Unless it happens regularly it is nothing to worry about. Since these are living creatures and not machines, once in a while they might lay a weird egg or a thinner shelled egg. It isn't a big deal. If it happens more often, then it is time to look at possible causes.

 

[aart]

Ditto morties post^^^

How old are the birds and how long have they been laying?
Was the shell thin or thick?
New layers often lay thin or no shelled eggs hen just starting up.

Are you mixing the oyster shell in with the layer feed?
It should kept available in a separate container.

 

[mortie]

It can also happen if a bird has been taking a break from laying and is getting back to work. I had a bird lay quite a few thin shelled/shell-less eggs when she first started and some of them were really light colored too since she didn't really get the brown coating right either. It was just her working out the kinks. Have you had any more?

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Recently, I have found squashed eggs in the nesting box. I have found two, at least a wk apart & my sister in law found one. She said hers was a white egg & mine were both brown. Is this from lack of calcium? ....

I am more likely to think that there are not enough good nests (from a hens' point of view) to go around, leading to overcrowding of the nest and scuffles over who gets to use which nest and when they can use it.