squishy soft egg! eeewww

[kayak3]

I awoke this morning to a squishy soft egg. what does this mean? im guessing not enough calcium but im not sure. how much calcium do i give them if this is what they need. i kinda thought theyre layer food had the calcium they need. although they have been grazing in the yard quite a bit lately. has anyone had this happen before? can i still eat it?

 

[Imp]

It's probably nothing, just a fluke. Just happens occasionally. Especially if your hens are new layers.
Some people eat them. Not sure I would.
Layer feed does have enough calcium in it, but most people will supplement with crushed oyster shell offered free choice.

Imp

 

[The Fairy Godmartyr]

Is it a new layer, or a chicken that has already been laying for a long time? My first pullet eggs are like that, but I haven't had any after the first egg or so. I do occasionally get thin-shelled eggs that usually crack when I'm trying to wash them off. I don't eat any of the eggs that are soft or crack before they are washed. I scramble them (with their shells) and feed them back to the chickens for the protein and calcium. I'm not sure about adding more calcium since all of the other eggs have really strong shells. I think it is just an occasional fluke.

 

[delfargo]

just a rookie mistake. that'll happen when a hen is just starting to lay.
i always look at it as a good thing, a sign that another chicken is starting to lay.
i wouldn't worry about the calcium thing. it's just that they don't have all thier "egg laying machinery" in 100% working order yet.
i've never eaten one cuz they are kinda gross. s'pose you could try one & let us know what it's like.

 

[JoAnn_WI_4-H_Mom]

My kids saw their first one over Thanksgiving weekend. We were trying to make it last until school to take to biology class, but they lose too much humidity without a shell. It started to look like an egg-raisin.

No worries, just a rookie mistake. Eat if you are certain it did not get any bacteria on it. Me, I just don't eat it.

 

[LittleHouseOnThePrairie]

One of my older hens (over a year old) has laid two soft shelled eggs over the last year. The first time was when the neighbor's dog came over and was jumping against the fence barking at her

. She just popped the egg out and ran for cover, poor thing. The other time I found a soft-shelled egg in a nest box...don't know what happened that time. But otherwise she has never had a problem and is a very reliable, easy going layer

.

 

[IdealisticRoo]

I got a few of these in the first few months my girls were laying, even though they had constant access to oyster shell.

I feed them to the dog (obviously after "cracking" it open and mixing it in his food). I usually found these under the roost in the morning, probably one of those "oops, was that me?" moments for the hen in question!

Ever wonder if chickens have the same problem us humans do - Do I trust that this is just gas or is something else going to pop out!?!?!

 

[kayak3]

thanks folks. she's only been laying for a month or so. i had no idea this could happen. what a weird surprise.

 

[2xchickenfarm]

I had one when she started to lay would only lay double yoke eggs everyday. And a few times a jelly one. It took her from August to now to calm down and lay normal size eggs. I thought she would wear herself out. One time it had 3 yokes. Wonder if she will stop laying earlyier than the others. She is also one that will not lay in the nest, and lays it on the floor. Everytime I come in she is there by her egg, enough to tell me "see what I did?"

 

[irenew]

I hope yours come right. I have a hen that has yet to lay a hard sshelled egg and I have given extra calcium and oyster shell on demand. They are either too thin or lacking in shell and I think she eats them