What happened to this egg?!

[superm0m]

Can anybody tell me what happened to this egg...assuming it was actually an egg (which I'm pretty sure it was)?! The shavings are stuck to it because the egg is very sticky/slimy. This has never happened (to us) before. Help!!

 

[3KillerBs]

It appears to be a "jelly egg" -- an egg that passed through the process without having a shell deposited on it.

With my young hens I've had one jelly egg -- laid from the perch overnight. It probably would have looked like that except that it was frozen solid when I found it.

Theoretically, if the membrane is intact and the egg is fresh its perfectly good to eat. I choose to cook it and give it back to the hens instead.

 

[PrairieChickens]

It's just a shell-less (or very thin-shelled) egg. It happens now and then, especially with young hens whose bodies are still getting the hang of making eggs. It's not a cause for concern unless it becomes a regular occurrence.

 

[superm0m]

Thanks so much for the responses. I did want to point out tho- I guess I didn't post a great picture, but what we found looks more like a really soft/floppy shell with no egg inside instead of a shell-less egg. Does that make sense?

 

[PrairieChickens]

I would hazard to guess that if the "shell" was torn open when you found it, your girls probably ate the contents before you got to it. My hens aren't egg eaters, thank goodness, but IF an egg ends up broken, they will clean it up without hesitation, and faulty eggs like this rarely last long enough to be discovered by us.

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks so much for the responses. I did want to point out tho- I guess I didn't post a great picture, but what we found looks more like a really soft/floppy shell with no egg inside instead of a shell-less egg. Does that make sense?

It had an egg inside of it...and your chickens ate it. That is normal and will not turn them into cannibals or "egg eaters"...there's no such thing, really, as all hens will eat eggs that break or are abnormal in the way of your shell less egg if it broke open. Sometimes you will even find these shell less eggs intact and unbroken and the chickens will not have touched them. Sometimes these are laid while the bird roosts because shell less eggs have a hard time moving through the oviduct and the birds have to strain to get them out, much like a bowel movement. And it might feel just like a bowel movement to the bird, because I most often find these under the roost instead of in the nest.

It's all very normal and nothing to be concerned about. About twice a year you will see abnormal egg shells...this time of year and around molting time in August. At that time this forum will sprout "egg eating" threads like fleas on a dog and everyone will advise fake eggs, loaded eggs, killing the egg eater, don't feed shells to your chickens and all sorts of nonsense related to the idea that chickens are or will be dedicated "egg eaters" but the simple fact is that, no..they will not. They are doing what comes naturally by cleaning the nest of damaged eggs and they are opportunistic eaters, which means if you break an egg in front of them they will eat it. If you throw down a piece of bread in front of them, they will eat it. If you throw them a piece of raw chicken liver they will eat it...and fight over it. It doesn't mean they are going to start eviscerating one another to eat livers.

No worries...your egg shells will firm up and you don't need to add calcium or extra proteins if you are currently feeding a balanced laying ration. Just continue their regular feed and their bodies will right themselves in due time. No amount of extra calcium will speed that up and it only takes a matter of days or a couple of weeks before they go back to normal.

 

[Happy Chooks]

It's just a shell-less (or very thin-shelled) egg. It happens now and then, especially with young hens whose bodies are still getting the hang of making eggs. It's not a cause for concern unless it becomes a regular occurrence.

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