Weirdness

[MichaelSellers]

My three chickens are 15 months old and normally very regular layers (one a day from each). Black Star, Buff Orpington, and Dominique.

A few weeks ago, egg production dropped off considerably. Around the same time I discovered a skunk in the chicken enclosure. Hard to tell if it made it into the coop itself but I did find a couple of unbroken eggs outside the coop in the dirt.

I reinforced the fencing making it nearly impossible for a skunk or similar animal to get in. I figured the stress of the skunk caused the drop in laying.

Then over the last three days I've found large wet spots in the nesting boxes. This morning there was an egg in one box, a wet spot in another, and a weird membrane-type shelled egg sitting in the middle of the pine shavings in the coop itself. Other eggs have had calcium deposits and rust-colored spots on them.

Do I have a hen eating eggs? Another type of predator? Illness? I don't find any trace of broken egg shell in the nesting box wet spots. The weird type of eggs concerns me. I've checked for vent prolapse and don't see anything wrong.

Thoughts? Thanks.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

If there are no egg shells with the wet spot, it probably isn't an egg eating hen.
It's possible there is a problem with one or more of their reproductive tracts like egg drop syndrome or influenza.
It's also possible there is a skunk or other egg eater like an opossum.

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

Or mice/rats...

 

[junebuggena]

They are over a year old, and it's early fall in some parts of the world. Egg production might have dropped off because it's almost time to molt. Sometimes a hen will lay a shell less egg, as long as it's not a regular occurrence, I wouldn't worry too much.