Squishy Eggs... (pics)

[Bleenie]

My Muscovy girls that hatched around the beginning of the year are finally starting to lay, i found a small, normal egg in one of the boxes a few days ago and then yesterday my mother came over and found 2 soft-shelled eggs in the run. Definitely from the young girls, one was pretty small again.

Just wanted to share the pictures i got of it. (mom broke this one but took the other home to show her friend that also has birds)

 

[TrystInn]

Its an incomplete development of the egg, it missed the end stage which creates the hard shell. This is pretty common for young birds just beginning to lay. If yours aren't just beginning to lay, I'd consider giving them some free option oyster shell and see if the eggs improve within the week.

Good luck!

 

[Bleenie]

They did just start laying, I just wanted to share the pictures. Mainly for help purposes, like if anyone were to come across one in their coop in the future and weren't sure if it was normal.

believe me, they get plenty of calcium, the older girls' eggs are Very hard-shelled! lol

 

[Mom 2em All]

Thank YOU!
I found one in my yard today, and one hard one in a nest. All my ducks hatched in the spring- and I was worried because I thought they werent getting enough calcium.
It makes me feel better to know that they are just working out the details.

 

[FenDruadin]

Yup--I've had plenty of those from young layers too.

To add to what's already been said--calcium deficiency usually manifests as irregular or incomplete shells rather than completely missing shells. Eggs like those in the pictures are usually due to immaturity or just a random mis-firing in egg production.

My mature adults will OCCASIONALLY lay one of these membrane eggs too, and I don't worry about it as long as it's occasional only.