Well, my remaining pet RIR, the Lovely Rhonda, is 7 years old, healthy and vigorous. She resumed laying in May, laid for 3-4 weeks, then caught a virus and stopped laying. After she got well (3 days), she did not resume laying, and hadn't for at least 6 weeks..
However, she laid and ate one egg last week (naughty chicken), and today laid the following: instead of an egg, there was a black mass, shaped and sized like a mutant prune; two tiny bean-shaped and albumin-covered "things" that resembled tan-colored fish roe; a wad of clear tissue, and smears of yolk and egg white. No shell at all.
I'm not finding too much info about elderly chickens, so I'm hoping our BYC family can help me sort this out. Is there something awful to come? Is this an aberration? What can you share with me? Thanks in advance!
However, she laid and ate one egg last week (naughty chicken), and today laid the following: instead of an egg, there was a black mass, shaped and sized like a mutant prune; two tiny bean-shaped and albumin-covered "things" that resembled tan-colored fish roe; a wad of clear tissue, and smears of yolk and egg white. No shell at all.
I'm not finding too much info about elderly chickens, so I'm hoping our BYC family can help me sort this out. Is there something awful to come? Is this an aberration? What can you share with me? Thanks in advance!