Strange Soft Shell Egg

[ugly ducky]

I got this soft shell egg today from one of my Bantam Rosecomb hens. I believe it is from a new hen I got over the weekend. Has anyone ever seen one like this? When I opened it up, it was all yolk with blood and purple areas all around it. WEIRD!! Reminds me of a pink grape, and felt like one too. i have her on layer pellets and oyster shell.

 

[bikergirl]

Ok that is just weird

Put this on "Emergencies / Diseases / Injuries and Cures" and see what the experts have to say!

 

[Mahonri]

Watch her carefully. Something WRONG with that hen.

 

[MoodyChicken]

The blood is normal, that's an internal blowout (while the yolk was scootin' along the oviduct a small hemorrhage caused blood and tissue to be encased with it), the soft shell isn't always good (every now and again it just means it traveled too quickly for a shell to be formed, frequent soft-shelled eggs mean disease). So basically, she laid a soft-shelled egg with a blowout. Nothing too serious. Though it could be a symptom of coccidiosis, watch for further symptoms.

 

[ugly ducky]

She appears totally healthy, but I have her separated, and will keep a close eye on her. I'm hoping that it's just the stress of the weekend with getting moved and all. She's such a pretty little thing, I hope she's ok. Thanks for the opinions.

 

[barnwife]

I had a hen that would lay a shell-less egg like clockwork once every 30 days.

NOTHING wrong with the hen, on tha same diet as all the other free-rangers I had when I lived in ohio... free choice of layer mash mixed with eggshell , a handful of scratch/whole oats, kitchen scraps, and 80 acres of horse farm, wilderness, hayfields, and gardens to roam at will.

I had my small flock disease tested by the vet when she came for the other livestock...nothing. all healthy!

The vet said sometimes chickens just make an egg too quickly, especially layer-breeds.

It was always a treat to find..it had a membrane, yolk, white, perfect proportion. It even cooked the same, tasted the same...just no shell.

Just watch for other symptoms, and if this becomes her regular thing (with the blowout in it too, get her vet checked or cull if a vet is not an option. Maybe your hen marches to her own beat like mine did!

 

[Chicken Fruit]

In my opinion every chicken lays a leathery/odd/funky egg once in a while- some even do it in a cycle.

I wouldnt worry about it unless she starts showing other symptoms of illness.

 

[Wynette]

I'd watch her closely; soft shells once in awhile are typically nothing to worry about, but this is not a "typical" softshell.

Here's a link to a page that speaks of eggs/shells and their issues:

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/ourbooks/1/egg-quality-handbook/