Topic of the Week - When eggs go wrong

[JMH63]

I believe the first picture came from my hen I lost to Ovarian Cancer. I would find lots of rubber eggs. After Speckles passed I very rarely find any. The second picture in hindsight I believe came from my hen I lost to Salpingitis. She never laid lash eggs. She did pass some tiny meaty looking pieces before I lost her.

 

[jennkretz]

I was told if you put out the oyster shell into a separate container the ones who need it should eat it and the others won't, supposedly they know what it's for. I put out crushed egg shells (from my chickens, not store bought) in a separate dish for them. My girls eat it, but the cockerels don't. It's weird how excited they get about it too.

I was going to say the same thing... I have a mixed age flock right now and that's what I read to do (and do). Jenn

 

[JMH63]

Anyone here ever get an egg with another complete egg (shell and all) inside it? I so wish I had taken a picture ( or even better a video) of the time I got one!

Yes I have had that happen. It was a rubber egg with normal egg inside it.

 

[Phaedra Winters]

My most memorable goofy egg layer was a home bred BSL (RIR x PBR)

I know that's a Rhode Island Red but by PBR do you mean a Plymouth Barred Rock? I am a little confused as to what breed you mean. Sorry if that comes off rude it isn't intended I am just curious.

 

[ladyearth]

New layers give me the occasional rubber egg or soft shelled egg. Several nights ago, there was an intact egg yolk laying on the floor under the roost.

My most memorable goofy egg layer was a home bred BSL (RIR x PBR) She had a difficult time regulating her conveyor belt. Any readers remember the Lucille Ball show where Lucy and Ethel got hired to work in a chocolate factory, wrapping those little chocolates as they came down the conveyor belt? The belt kept speeding up until poor Lucy was stuffing them in her pockets, in her bra, then she started eating them.

Well, that was my little black hen, Hola! In one 24 hour period, I watched her lay 2 rubber eggs at 5 minute intervals, followed by a normal egg the following morning.

The most common nest box glitch I find is when a hen plops a big ol' turd in the nest box along with an egg. Or the inevitable skid marks that accompany sloppy muddy days.

After the pullets get up to full production, I average less than 2 eggs/week that do not make it into egg cartons. Any dirty eggs get set aside for my own use. Any soft shelled eggs go to my egg sucking, thieving dog. Egg shells get dried and go back to the flock.

Any time I ever notice a decline in egg shell quality, I give the birds some multi vitamins. That has an almost instant beneficial effect on the structural quality of the entire egg. IMO, calcium and protein are but a very small part of egg quality and bird health.

lazygardener which vitamins say brand do you give?thank you

 

[chicklette49]

You are always going to get eggs that just aren't right. In fact most aren't what you find in the grocery stores. I worked for about a year at a chicken/egg farm. They had over a million chickens. Perhaps half, if that many, made it to the cartons to be sold to consumers. The rest were rejected due to shape, blem's, cracks, color, size or many other reasons. These would go to a line where they would be cracked and the egg would go into 5 gl. bucket to be frozen. These frozen shelled eggs would go to the military and other bulk egg using industries that don't need whole in the shell eggs. So, if you are getting 50% or more good eggs, your doing quite well. Right now on my little homestead I get about 24 eggs a day. I always have 2 or 3 soft shelled, thin shelled, cracked shelled or no shell eggs a day. Perhaps half would be what I would call a "Perfect Egg", no blem's. I'm not picky, so I'm runnin' about 90% edible eggs. I eat about 2 to 3 dozen a month personally, the rest I donate to the local food bank. They're not too picky either.
God Bless, Rick
View attachment 1138241

Lo

You are always going to get eggs that just aren't right. In fact most aren't what you find in the grocery stores. I worked for about a year at a chicken/egg farm. They had over a million chickens. Perhaps half, if that many, made it to the cartons to be sold to consumers. The rest were rejected due to shape, blem's, cracks, color, size or many other reasons. These would go to a line where they would be cracked and the egg would go into 5 gl. bucket to be frozen. These frozen shelled eggs would go to the military and other bulk egg using industries that don't need whole in the shell eggs. So, if you are getting 50% or more good eggs, your doing quite well. Right now on my little homestead I get about 24 eggs a day. I always have 2 or 3 soft shelled, thin shelled, cracked shelled or no shell eggs a day. Perhaps half would be what I would call a "Perfect Egg", no blem's. I'm not picky, so I'm runnin' about 90% edible eggs. I eat about 2 to 3 dozen a month personally, the rest I donate to the local food bank. They're not too picky either.
God Bless, Rick
View attachment 1138241

 

[Redhead Rae]

One of my hens has been laying thin-shelled eggs. While the whole shell is thin, there always seems to be a spot on the side of the egg that is either thinner than the rest of the shell (a few times I was able to see the yolk inside the egg through the thin spot) or it is deformed in that spot. Is it odd that the thin spot is always on the same spot on the side of the egg? The two pictures are from different days of the same hen's eggs.

 

[Sylvester017]

I have a hen that is a year and a half old. Since we built a new coop with new laying boxes, she stopped laying for 3 months, but now has begun, but the problem is that all her egg shells are so thin or none existent that the egg never makes it out of the laying box. None of my other hens have this issue. Is she lacking calcium, and if so, how do I treat just one hen? Is she too old the make a good hard shell? What else could it be?

Just a thought -- perhaps using a pelleted layer feed with the calcium already pressed into it could be a solution for thin shell egg-layers. I use a non-processed/non-pressed organic layer feed where all the ingredients/grains/powders/vitamins/oyster shell are separated in the feed, but if I find soft-shell eggs I switch for a while to offering only the solid layer pellets with the calcium already pressed into them so that all egg layers are sure to be eating the needed calcium. Chickens are quirky and sometimes select eating only a favorite treat to the exclusion of good well-balanced layer feed. Of course, there's always the occasional laying hen that has a reproductive issue for which there's usually nothing that can be done without medical intervention. I've also lost hens to various medical issues/viruses where soft shell eggs were a precursor to their fatal end.

Seems like it's been my most prolific layers that have had reproductive issues which is why I've been switching over to broody chicken breeds to give their bodies a restorative rest between laying cycles. I'm not getting 250+ eggs a year with my broody chicken breeds but 140 to 180 eggs isn't that bad in exchange for giving the hens a longer recuperative nutrient replenishing break between laying cycles. Everyone's chicken-rearing is different for their needs. Our hens are also pets so we don't turn them over every couple years if they aren't producing and we want them to stay around for as long as they have quality of life.

 

[Gail Laubenthal]

Just a thought -- perhaps using a pelleted layer feed with the calcium already pressed into it could be a solution for thin shell egg-layers. I use a non-processed/non-pressed organic layer feed where all the ingredients/grains/powders/vitamins/oyster shell are separated in the feed, but if I find soft-shell eggs I switch for a while to offering only the solid layer pellets with the calcium already pressed into them so that all egg layers are sure to be eating the needed calcium. Chickens are quirky and sometimes select eating only a favorite treat to the exclusion of good well-balanced layer feed. Of course, there's always the occasional laying hen that has a reproductive issue for which there's usually nothing that can be done without medical intervention. I've also lost hens to various medical issues/viruses where soft shell eggs were a precursor to their fatal end.

Seems like it's been my most prolific layers that have had reproductive issues which is why I've been switching over to broody chicken breeds to give their bodies a restorative rest between laying cycles. I'm not getting 250+ eggs a year with my broody chicken breeds but 140 to 180 eggs isn't that bad in exchange for giving the hens a longer recuperative nutrient replenishing break between laying cycles. Everyone's chicken-rearing is different for their needs. Our hens are also pets so we don't turn them over every couple years if they aren't producing and we want them to stay around for as long as they have quality of life.

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to the feed store today and will see if I can find some feed with calcium. I also let my older girls hang around for life...they are part of the family, so they should be treated that way!

 

[lazy gardener]

What do you use for "multi vitamins?"
Thanks!

I have a hen that is a year and a half old. Since we built a new coop with new laying boxes, she stopped laying for 3 months, but now has begun, but the problem is that all her egg shells are so thin or none existent that the egg never makes it out of the laying box. None of my other hens have this issue. Is she lacking calcium, and if so, how do I treat just one hen? Is she too old the make a good hard shell? What else could it be?

There are a number of multi vitamin products that you can use. Some are intended for poultry, some are not poultry specific. Do your homework, and choose a product which seems to fit your budget, and dose accordingly, keeping the weight of the bird (or the flock) in mind. I dose according to the estimated flock weight and mix the supplement into their FF at feeding time. I hesitate to give a specific product name, b/c there are so many options.

I know that's a Rhode Island Red but by PBR do you mean a Plymouth Barred Rock? I am a little confused as to what breed you mean. Sorry if that comes off rude it isn't intended I am just curious.

Yes, Rhode Island Red roo x any barr patterned hen = Black Sex Link. (BSL)

Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to the feed store today and will see if I can find some feed with calcium. I also let my older girls hang around for life...they are part of the family, so they should be treated that way!

While letting your old gals "hang around for life" is a personal decision, keep in mind that by the time a bird is showing signs of discomfort, that she is in a huge amount of pain. Many animals mask their pain, so if they show discomfort, they are suffering greatly. It's a personal choice regarding euthanizing a bird who is uncomfortable. I choose that approach.