Today while collecting eggs I found these two things in nesting box next to the eggs. The clear one looks to me like a shell-less and yolk-less egg, and the other is a dried up something... maybe a shell-less egg from a few days ago? Last week I suspected that one of my hens was possibly egg bound, but she returned to her normal self after only one day of being under the weather, so I didn't stress it. I gave extra calcium - milk, yogurt, egg shells, and everyone has seemed fine. I'm not sure if what I found today is from today or if I've been missing it. The clear one is about an inch long and 1/2 inch wide, very soft and feels like I could pop it. The other is about two inches long and when I cut it in half it's folded throughout and pretty dried up all the way through, a little egg-white-like stuff oozing. Both have wood shavings and bits of grass stuck to them. Is this familiar to anyone? Should I change or add something to their diet?
I remember reading a thread about this very similar thing before. But I don't remember what the outcome was, maybe you could do a search. Sorry I am not more help.
No, they're not super young - over a year and have been laying since the end of last summer. I did some searching and it looks like from other similar stories and info, this should pass. Thanks for your input.
Add a container of shell grit for them to pick at, if you do not have one already. Keep it refilled all the time. You can also bake egg shells in the oven, then crush them up and give them to the hens. Make sure that they have plenty of greens to eat also, to keep up vitamin intake. Hopefully this will solve your problem of shell-less eggs.
Harrietsmum - There is no such thing as shell grit. There is oyster shell and there is grit. They are very different and have different purposes. The oyster shell is ground up oyster shell and it's purpose is to add calcium. Grit is rock, usually granite, that they use to grind up their food. I provide both grit and oyster shell to my laying flock 24 x 7 in separate feeders in the coop. I don't mix either with their food. FlagChick - Both of these photos look to me to be very thin shell eggs with the second one being dried up. I saw a few on these in my next boxes and coop last fall when my birds first started laying. I still occasionally, but not very often, find one of these in the coop or run. They are usually not in the nest boxes. A few weeks ago I saw one laying on the ground. I turned my back for a moment to set something down so that I could go pick it up and throw it away. But when I turned back around I saw that several birds were gathered around it and they had eaten it. Maybe these do get layed more often than I think and they get eaten right away like the one a witnessed. ''.
Quote:Sorry I did not mean to confuse anyone. I forget that we have different names for some things in New Zealand. Here we buy 'shell grit' which is a mix of oyster and mussel shell.
Never apologize for something you didn't do. You are owed an apology rather then having to issue one. Some folks forget that whatever country they live in, it is not really the center of the universe.
This morning I found this in the box. Assuming the same thing since I hadn't been getting eggs out of my younger chicken. Is there anything I should do?
Not quite the same thing as posted above - the first item above is a shell-less egg, produced when the hen's shell glad does not put the outer shell over the membrane as it passes through the uterus and is expelled. What you have in your hand there is a lash egg.