unusual dry, whitish, chalky egg......why????

[mlejneks]

Hello. Looking for some help here. I still feel new to all this, and could use some help. I've had my 4 hens a little over a year now. All my hens lay well, and consistently use the nest box. On three separate occasions, I have found an egg laid out on the floor of the run, and on each of these occasions, the egg had a different and distinct off-color and shell texture. On two of the three occasions, I have noticed unusual behavior in the hen who I suspect laid the unusual egg prior to laying it.

I'd describe the behavior as lethargic, slow moving, almost holding still like a statue, giving me the impression they were in some pain. Then within 24 hours, an egg like the one shown appears, and the hen returns to normal behavior. I have my suspicion as to what is going on, but I'd like to hear your thoughts, and find out if any of you have seen this in your flock. I'd also like to know if there is anything I can do to prevent these instances.

The attached picture shows two eggs, both from the same hen. The one on the right is a normal egg. The one of the left is the unusual egg that was laid on the ground in the run. It is dry, and has a whitish color to it.

Please reply if you can offer suggestions or advice.

Thank you.

 

[Kelsie2290]

Ya, white banded eggs, I find them occasionally also, usually under the roost or on the ground...figure stress is the main factor since they often do seem to show up a day or two after something upset the birds, like catching them to dust etc. Sometimes I have no idea why, might just be a problem or something affecting the individual bird.

Picture near the bottom right.
https://www.alltech.com/sites/default/files/alltech-egg-shell-quality-poster.pdf
" White Banded Eggs
These eggs are the result of two eggs
coming in contact with each other in
the shell gland pouch. At this point,
normal calcification is interrupted and
the first egg retained in the pouch will
have an extra layer of calcium - seen
as the white band marking.
Causes:
•
Stress
•
Changes in lighting
•
Disease"

 

[mlejneks]

Thank you very much for the reply, and link to the egg shell chart. That is really interesting!

The white banded shell certainly looks like what I am finding from time to time. I'm not sure I understand the cause of it, and maybe never will. I'd like to understand how a chicken knows it will be laying a white banded egg, and therefore decides to lay it on the ground (instead of in the nest box). How do they know that? I seriously think laying one of these eggs is more difficult for them to pass, and maybe that is why they do not lay it in the nest box. I say that because prior to this happening, I have witnessed the bird acting differently (standing perfectly still - like a statue with their tail up high and their head pulled back toward their body) being more reclusive, not going up to roost the night prior to dropping the egg, as examples).

I also happened to witness one of these being laid one time. A hen was acting strangely, statue posture, off on her own. It was getting to be time to go to roost, but she was off in a corner of my yard, standing on the downspout coming off my house. I heard a "clunk" and walked over to find she laid one of these eggs while standing on that downspout. When it dropped, it made that sound against the metal. It was truly fresh laid, warm and somewhat damp. As soon as she laid it, she returned to normal, walking around and returning to the coop for the night. Laying an egg at that time of evening (after 7:00 pm) is not normal at all for my flock.

The dry somewhat course texture makes me believe these would have to be more difficult to pass than a normal smooth, shiny shelled egg. I was thinking this was part of what would be considered an "egg bound" bird.

 

[w8ing4eggs]

I have recently had this very same thing happen to one of my birds - isolates herself, lays egg in the yard late in the day, almost time to roost. This same bird, about two weeks ago, was acting very strangely...non-responsive, very still, falling asleep on her feet away from the rest of the flock while free ranging. Then when I put them in the coop, I had to carry her in so I stayed around to watch her for a while. She hid in the corner and then proceeded to lay not one, but TWO "rubber" or soft shell eggs. I thought she might be eggbound, too. Then these white chalky ones on occasion. She usually seems fine otherwise! Any ideas?

 

[CoopdeVillage]

Hello w8ing4eggs and mlejneks,

Just wondering what happened with your hens laying those chalky rough eggs. I have a white rock who I think has laid one of these twice, late in the day (after 7pm). Tonight there was one in the coop just laid between 730 and 8, and the white rock was laying down on the floor of the coop (very unusual!) instead of on the roost. She seemed fine, spending time with the flock, earlier today. I'm not sure if it's related, but the other day there was a soft-shelled egg below the roost, which hasn't happened since they started laying in early July.

It has been very very hot and humid for 3 days, plus daylight is shortening. Also, there has been a big reduction in the time my flock spends free ranging for four days since I've returned to work.

Is there anything I should know or do? Thanks!

 

[Eggcessive]

Here are some good links about abnormal eggs:
https://peafowlimagedatabase.weebly.com/uploads/1/5/5/4/15545734/egg-shell-quality-poster.pdf

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/