Weird egg

[Brigabart]

So, I have a pullet, 8 months old, Heitage English Orpington. She's been laying about a month. The first couple of eggs seemed normal, but each one since then has had the same oddities. For one, the egg always has a slightly flattened appearance as if someone squished it a bit. Secondly, it always has a dark spot typically near the rounded end. Then on the other side it typically has a spot that has a little bit of white, seems a bit bumpy, and is thinner and easier to crack at that point. Her eggs are strangely fragile, if I close my hand on it I can usually easily break it. She eats chicken food, non-medicated, with kelp, probiotics, DE, and a omega egg maker. She has access to crushed oyster shell and crushed gravel in separate containers. She gets vitamins for poultry in her water three times a week and poultry probiotics in the water one time a week. She has always had a messy bum, which has gotten worse. Noticed a bit of redness on her bum. I've treated her bum and vent with yeast infection meds, dewormer her, and given her vitamin d. I see her eating plenty of oystershell. She is not freerange but my run has 35 Square feet per chicken with plenty of interesting things to climb on or hide under. She also has access to cabbage and veggie scraps. I'll include some photos of her egg. Any ideas about this? It is so fragile that her egg typically breaks in the nest box If I do not get to it in time. I'm worried about an egg breaking inside of her because they are so fragile. It's very hard to show the flattened shape in the photos for some reason. Also just FYI, I have a closed flock and they are all healthy with the exception of this girl.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

If she is going through some illness which is causing the loose droppings than sometimes egg quality goes down. If that's what it is she should start laying better eggs as she gets better.

You are giving them lots of extra stuff. A premixed bagged ration should have all the vitamins and minerals she needs so all the extra stuff could throw off the balanced diet too much. Sometimes too many vitamins can cause diarrhea, so cut out the extra vitamins and see if things don't improve over the next month or so.

And lastly some hens just lay wonky weird eggs. Sometimes it can come and go and other times it's just what that hen is going to do.

 

[Brigabart]

Thanks! I will back off the vitamins and the probiotics in the water and see if that helps. My other hens are doing great- shiny, good poops, great eggs, clean bottoms. Just this one chicken, who has had messy bum for two months and weird eggs except for her first couple.

 

[lazy gardener]

The only other suggestion I have is that you might try fermenting their feed. Fermentation makes the nutrients in the feed more bio-available. It also gives the birds some probiotics as well as improving the health of their gut villi. She most likely has vent gleet. I'm thinking the FF might help with that.

 

[Brigabart]

Thanks! I actually forgot to mention that - I do ferment their food.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Thanks! I will back off the vitamins and the probiotics in the water and see if that helps. My other hens are doing great- shiny, good poops, great eggs, clean bottoms. Just this one chicken, who has had messy bum for two months and weird eggs except for her first couple.

I have a few birds that routinely lay eggs I can't use, so it's possible. Cutting out the extra stuff would allow you to see if it's causing this particular bird problems or there's just something wrong with her, which I would probably suspect.

 

[Brigabart]

Thanks - I'm suspecting there is something wrong with her, since her peers are bursting with good health and awesome eggs. I don't mind weird eggs, but I'm worried that one will break in her and give her peritonitis....

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I don't think you can really do anything to prevent it unfortunately.