What could cause this??

[Goldwingnut]

One of my hens is pretty consistently laying an egg with a weird big end. 2 days ago it was perfect, but then today's offering was her worst effort yet.

It's rough, discolored and sometimes a bit misshapen, even slightly pointy. It's been going on a couple of weeks at least. Never anywhere else, just the big end. Feels a little like sandpaper,
.

 

[azygous]

You don't mention the age of this hen, but my guess is she is one of your older layers. Such shell anomalies are not uncommon with aging hens.

 

[NatJ]

One of my hens is pretty consistently laying an egg with a weird big end. 2 days ago it was perfect, but then today's offering was her worst effort yet.

It's rough, discolored and sometimes a bit misshapen, even slightly pointy. It's been going on a couple of weeks at least. Never anywhere else, just the big end. Feels a little like sandpaper,
.

That happens sometimes. I don't know of any specific cause that you can do anything about.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/
This article talks about many weird things that can happen with eggs.

 

[Perris]

It could be a consequence of mycoplasma infection. I will look for a relevant photo and link and get back to you.

 

[Perris]

here we are: see figure 5 (tray of eggs) on this site
https://www.nadis.org.uk/disease-a-z/poultry/diseases-of-farmyard-poultry/part-1-mycoplasmosis/
and compare with what your hen is laying. You could check for other symptoms and, if you think it is this, for how to deal with it on that page too.

 

[Goldwingnut]

azygous, I was busy doing garden stuff and didn't look for replies until just now. This hen isn't old at all. We hatched her 13 months ago today, as a matter of fact.

Perris, there are 2 eggs in the 5th picture you linked on the right edge (center and one egg lower) that look very much like what my hen is laying. I'm thinking she has what you suspected on your post.

NatJ, Thanks for the reply. Not sure....

She hasn't laid today and it's already close to 7PM (Central time) so I think she's likely skipping. I'll wait to see what tomorrow brings.

 

[Goldwingnut]

Ok. Here is yesterday's egg on the left and today's egg on right.

We don't have a vet locally who does poultry. I intend to check for other symptoms of Mycoplasmos myself, but not til tomorrow.

Grandpa-ing today til 4 and THEN orchestra rehearsal at church. It will be pretty late in the day when I get home to look her over. But she doesn't act unwell at all.

My wife remarked how thin her eggshells seemed when using them.

 

[Perris]

If it is mycoplasmosis, typically infected birds develop immunity, and her eggs will be fine thereafter. You might have these defective shells for the season though, and her recovery not show in the eggs till next year.

 

[ChasingChooks]

My Buff Orpington lays very light brown, pointy, sand-papery eggs. Kind of a rougher shell than the others. I can always tell which is hers! But it looks like your hen might have something. Hope she is okay!

 

[Goldwingnut]

I did not follow up with this thread but now I need to. I didn't happen to write down the date, and I don't remember. But this hen did in fact not survive.

She carried on for another three or four weeks with various eggshell anomalies, then one day she refused to eat, and stayed inside the coop. She wouldn't even take meal worms out of my hand, so I knew it was bad. She did not make it to the next day.

So here's my dilemma. I guess I DO suspect Mycoplasma, but there's no way I can test for it without a giant expense, since there are no poultry veterinarians anywhere nearby. It is simply not in the budget at this time for that kind of expenditure.

Aaaaand when I got back to the house from church this morning, I see another hen acting like she feels very very poorly. Standing all alone in the coop.

She's been acting a little different from her normal, active self.

I've never seen any respiratory issues with any of these birds, no sneezing, no swelling, nothing. This current bird did limp around noticeably, a few days ago, but she got better. Her eggs have never been misshapen or sandy textured.

I do not want to lose this hen. but i'm afraid it's already too late. She must feel awful...to stay in the coop when her friends are all out running around. She's just standing there, staring off into space.

Plus...if it's mycoplasma, that seems a terrible thing to have happen.

I've not seen any other symptoms besides those I mentioned here.

Any advice?