Something came out of your hen that looks like an egg water balloon. Are you afraid she might be sick? If your pullets have just started laying eggs, an egg without a shell can happen. Here is what to do if your chicken laid an egg with no shell:
When a backyard chicken keeper finds an egg in the nesting box without a shell, it can be scary. They happen when the egg’s shell doesn’t fully form. This is called a rubber or soft-shelled egg. Even though they look strange, these eggs without shells are usually nothing to worry about.
What Causes A Chicken To Lay A Soft Egg?
There are a few common reasons why a chicken may lay an egg without a proper shell
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Just Beginning to Lay Eggs: When young pullets lay their first eggs, they often make soft eggs until their reproductive systems are fully developed. This is temporary.
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After Molting Or Broodiness When chickens stop laying for an extended period, like during their annual molt or while broody, their first eggs returning can lack shells This rights itself shortly
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Insufficient Calcium The shell is over 95% calcium carbonate. Free-ranging flocks often eat foods that are low in calcium, which makes their shells thin or missing. Providing a supplement rectifies this.
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Stress: Stress from predators, overcrowding, relocation, illness, etc. can impact shell production. Reducing stressors often resolves the problem.
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Advancing Age: Older hens sometimes have trouble forming shells as their egg production naturally declines. Soft eggs are likely to persist in aging chickens.
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Disease/Reproductive Issues: Medical conditions affecting the oviduct and shell gland can cause soft eggs long term. This includes issues like egg drop syndrome.
Is A Soft Egg Safe To Eat?
While rubbery and abnormal looking, a soft egg with an intact membrane is safe for humans to consume if broken open immediately before cooking. Without the shell the contents spoil rapidly so soft eggs cannot be saved like normal ones. The flavor and nutritional value remains the same.
What To Do If Your Chicken Lays A Soft Egg
Isolate and discard any compromised soft eggs. Boosting calcium intake resolves many shell issues:
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Provide a quality layer feed designed for eggs production
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Offer a supplemental source of calcium like oyster shell
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Improve nutrition by reducing treats and restricting free ranging
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Increase calcium absorption by adding Vitamin D and magnesium
Consider if stressors need to be addressed. Soft eggs in older chickens often cannot be fixed. If the problem persists or recurs frequently, consult an avian vet to rule out reproductive disease. With small adjustments, your chicken should be back to laying hard-shelled eggs in no time.
Beware: Eggs with No Shell Rot Quickly
We got one water balloon egg. I saved it so my son could see it when he got back from backpacking. I assumed it was the only one we would ever see. Less than 48 hours later, it had a significant smell to it and I was glad I had kept it in the garage. Best not to keep these eggs for very long because they spoil quickly.
What is Going On?
Was one of my chickens sick? Which one? The egg had no shell so there was no color to hint at who had laid this aberration. I was feeding my flock Scratch and Peck brand organic feed and offering flaked oyster shell free choice in their coop since the first egg appeared. (Afflinks) I knew my sweet hens were getting enough calcium through their diet and free ranging, despite more than one website insisting feeding practices were to blame. Finally, I found one fellow backyard owner who knew the true reason: Hens who have just begun laying are sometimes prone to laying shell-less eggs! And I had fourteen hens just coming into lay who could potentially experience this issue. If the hens had a good quality feed, access to oyster shell and clean water, the only “fix” was giving them time for their bodies to fall into a correct laying rhythm.
The next day there was a broken, semi-soft, only half shelled egg under the roost which seemed to have been laid in someone’s sleep. Later that day one hen laid a YOLK. No shell, no membrane. A straight liquid yolk! The day after that a fourth hen laid another water balloon-like egg, a Barred Rock laid an over-calcified egg that had a milky white, chalky coating and then the flock went 24 hours with almost no eggs laid.
Why Did My Chicken Lay an Egg with no Shell???
FAQ
Why did my chicken lay an egg with no shell?
A shell-less egg, also known as a soft-shelled egg, is usually caused by a calcium deficiency or stress in the hen. It can also happen to young hens that are just starting to lay eggs or to older hens that are almost done laying eggs.
Do chickens recover from egg drop syndrome?
No, chickens do not get better from Egg Drop Syndrome (EDS) in the sense that the virus goes away and the chickens start laying eggs normally again. EDS is a disease caused by an adenovirus that affects laying hens, leading to a drop in egg production and the laying of abnormal eggs.
What is an egg without a shell called?
The eggs can also be called fart eggs, cock eggs, fairy eggs, dwarf eggs, and witch eggs. People also call them “wind eggs,” but this word is more often used for eggs that don’t have a shell or have a soft shell than for eggs that are rotten or haven’t been fertilized.
What do you feed chickens to make their egg shells stronger?
Give them oyster shells. You can mix crushed shells in with food or put a bowl of just crushed oyster shells in a food bowl for them to eat. The calcium will build stronger shells.