Strange Dried Egg No Shell

[SusanPC]

This is going to sound strange, but I have found what looks like a very dried-up shell-less egg around my yard and in the chicken pen. I've found three of them. The strangest part is that I found them after I got what I thought was my first egg from my Easter Egger. Hers was small, but perfect and green. The only thing I can think is that the dried up mess in the mulch is a shell-less egg that one of the other chickens has been laying and I haven't noticed. The weirdest part is that when I pick it up, it is completely dried up - like freeze-dried, and flakes away and then if I break it open, it's black inside. The black inside smells like dirt and the papery outer yellow part just disintegrates when I touch it. At first, I thought they were some type of fungus, but I live in dry West Texas and it's been in the 100s, so I'm assuming it's a shell-less egg that's fallen out of the chicken into the pine bark mulch and dried out. I just don't understand the black center and no bad smell. Has anyone ever seen anything like this? I'll try to get a pic of the next one and post it if no one has experience with this. Thanks for your help.

 

[Angiebubs]

A picture would well.....be worth a thousand words? ;-)

Any idea how long these might have been out there? Could it be that it was a long time ago, they rotted then dried out?

 

[SusanPC]

Here are photos of the mysterious dried shell-less egg. They are definitely recent. This one was a bit moist on the bottom and must have been expelled today, because the area was clear this morning. I don't know which hen it is. They are all 20 weeks and I have gotten a "real" egg from one girl yesterday.

 

[kelp]

Are those little feet in the picture? It may actually be regurgitation from a large bird (owl). It may also be scat from a reptile of some type.

 

[SusanPC]

Hi, no the "stuff" stuck to the bottom is the pine bark mulch, straw, hay, and pine shavings that I couldn't pull off without risking pulling the "egg" apart. On this one, the bottom had a pink mucus-y layer to it, the inside is black and smells like dirt. The coating looks like egg yolk and white, but dried to a papery thin consistency. It must be coming from the chickens due to the locations inside the chicken pen area. Has anyone seen anything like this before? I have found these when I come home from work for lunch or at the end of the day. I check in the morning before I leave and the area is clear. I am pretty sure there has been one a day, just like an egg lay. It is so strange! I am getting worried for the chicken that this belongs to, but I don't even know which it is.

 

[SusanPC]

Pics Posted - anyone know what could be causing this?

 

[Angiebubs]

To me, this looks like a dried poop with some intestinal shedding? The white cap is the Uric acid or pee...IMHO

 

[SusanPC]

I would say the same thing about it being a weird poop if it wasn't so big. I probably should have put something next to it for scale. It is about 2-3" across and shaped like an egg trying to hold together and includes yellow. If it is a poop, it's the biggest thing I've ever seen. I also wonder if it is a regurgitation of an eaten egg - hence the seemingly "dirt" center. I work with other people that have or have had chickens and they have never seen anything like it. The mystery continues and deepens...

I've contained the girls in their run today, so hopefully this will either never happen again or I'll get another sample (and hopefully a second egg from my Easter Egger) from inside their secure run. I sat outside with the girls for about 3 hours after work last night observing their behavior and everything seems normal. I won't be able to observe them during the day until Saturday to see exactly what is going on.

If anyone has any other ideas or experience with anything like this, please let me know - thanks!

 

[SusanPC]

Okay - I think I have identified the item and I don't think it came from a chicken. I am fairly convinced that the items are slime mold. There are many variations and stages, but I found some pics and descriptions that match what I found. Thanks for all your input.

 

[MsSueT]

A lash egg, maybe?