Rubbery Egg...Really Weird.

[julesapple]

I just been out to the garden as a lot of clucking announced an egg. The egg was in the corner of the henhouse, not the nest box, and I didn't see who was clucking by the time I got out there (I'm very slow and a bit shakey still)

Anyhoo, I think we've just had our first soft-shelled egg. It wasn't just the egg contents in a membrane and it didn't quite have a shell. What it does look like is one of those silly putty eggs that kids have. All rubbery but pale brown, like it was nearly shelled but not quite. There was also a lot of clear rubbery mucus...looked like silicone gel. Yucky, but quite interesting too.

I'm wondering if it was Buffy as we haven't had an egg for two days from her, but she was in the nestbox a few times. Or, it could be a first egg from one of the girls who hadn't started laying yet.

Guess I will need to spend my day in the garden chook watching again

Well, someone has do it........

Jules

[Flummery]

We had one - and a broken one - when the girls first started laying. I made sure they had a bit of extra calcium - limestone flour and a teaspoon of cod liver oil stirred into the feed. We haven't had another. I don't really think at this stage it's a deficiency - I think their bodies are just getting used to the job.

[julesapple]

That's good to know Flum. I thought ours had a good diet, so I think it's just an odd first egg. Al of the girls are acting as normal, no one off colour at all.

Morag has just told the entire village that she's laid an egg - 45g today so it was a fair bit of noise - so it wasn't hers.

Hattie produced her blue egg first thing this morning, so it's not hers. Buffy lays in the afternoon, so I'll keep an eye on her still.

I thought, with all the rubbery mucus, there might have been a sticky bottom, but no sign of anything sticky on anyone.

Jules

[Bramble-Poultry]

Jules - hope you are feeling better hun

a 1 off rubbery egg is nothing to worry about and is caused by a endless list of possibilities. If you buy a complete pelled food then there is no need to add anything to their diet at this stage as too much calcium can actually be as bad as not enough.

Sometimes rubbery eggs just happen and its interesting to get one and play around with it.

Keep you eye on it and if it happens again in the next 2 weeks then there is obviously something causing it and then its time to address you options, but just for 1 I'd not worry unduely.

Chook wathcing what a hard torterous life you lead!!! but identifying the "culprit" is the first step because then if tehre is a problem you know who to treat! have a fun day in the sun watching chooks - and I KNOW its sunny there just spoke to neice and she says its lovely!

[bluemoon]

Thanks, Bramble. I didn't know that about the calcium. I've been giving our Marans oyster shell, but not the Rhodies or Goldtops as they were not laying. One of the Goldtops began to lay last Tuesday though (28th July) at 19 weeks and we've had a (very) small egg from her every day since, so I gave her some oyster shell and she and her sister and Elvis the cockerel scarfed the lot in under an hour. The next day her egg was lumpy and bumpy and I'd wondered if it was an excess of calcium that had caused it, I won't give them any more until they show signs of needing it. I can fill the hopper for the Marans and it lasts 6 weeks as they seem to just take what they need, but they are older and probably more sensible.

[julesapple]

Jules - hope you are feeling better hun

Chook wathcing what a hard torterous life you lead!!! but identifying the "culprit" is the first step because then if tehre is a problem you know who to treat! have a fun day in the sun watching chooks - and I KNOW its sunny there just spoke to neice and she says its lovely!

Feeling much better today. I think I got off lightly compared to others. The flu drugs really worked for me. Still very tired and a bit shaky. Got a craft fair tomorrow, and I can't cancel it, so might be cream-crackered by Sunday.

I'll just keep an eye out, try and see who's egg it was. Ours have grit in a pot but never touch it. They're on layers pellets and free range around the garden all day so I think they pick up their calcium naturally. Good to know about the excess calcium problems too.

Wish I'd taken pics now, but OH thought it freaky and threw the rubbery egg in the bin.

Jules

[Flummery]

Ours rarely touch the grit in the pot. It's a mixture of oyster and stone grit - to cover both purposes. They also have it scattered in the run of an evening with a bit of mixed corn and I think that's when they hoover it up!

[Bramble-Poultry]

a formulated feed is exactly balanced to contain all of the correct vits and mins including calcium. If the main bulk of their diet is made up of commercial feed then nothing else is really required nutritionally.

However, other additives such as ACV and live yoghurt are not usually given for their nutritional value but more for their preventative medicinal uses.

Blue moon - yep nobbly eggs is caused by excess calcium deposition

[RichmondHens]

I'll just keep an eye out, try and see who's egg it was. Ours have grit in a pot but never touch it. They're on layers pellets and free range around the garden all day so I think they pick up their calcium naturally. Good to know about the excess calcium problems too.

Jules[/QUOTE]

I don't put out grit for the free rangers, only the ones who are in an enclosure. The free rangers obviously get enough calcium as their shells are as hard as bullets. They need an extra hard whack on the side of the mixing bowl when I'm baking!!

[matthew2riches]

Many things that could cause it!

Just make sure they don't eat them or you'll never ever (ever, ever, ever, ever) stop them!

[julesapple]

We had three soft shelled eggs in total last week.

The second one looked like a perfect egg until I went to pick it up and discovered it was soft. Inside it was a perfectly formed egg, so I fed it to our elderly cat who loves raw egg.

The third was probably exactly the same, except that I just found the empty 'bag' when I was cleaning out the next morning. I couldn't find any sign of the contents, not even anything slightly yolky in the Hemcore. It may well have been eaten or was, perhaps, just the albumen which was absorbed by the Hemcore before it got eaten..

Things seem to be back to normal, three eggs a day and, thankfully, no sign of eggs being pecked or eaten.

Jules

[timmyalex]

This is really wierd. I have, amongst others, 2 small white star hybrids who are about to come into lay and last night when i released the girls for their evening constitutional one of them came out and laid a tiny rubbery egg outside the pen. The other girls were on it in a flash and we shooed them away and cleared up. Poor white star was very shocked and stood very still for ages but eventually picked up and slowly walked around. Then, about 20 mins later i walked past one of the compost heaps to find our Magpie (Fat Maggie) squatting and in the thro's of laying a rubber egg herself. What can cause rubber eggs.? I can understand the white star laying her first egg as rubbery but Fat Maggie has been laying, small but perfectly formed eggs for weeks now. We have grit on the floor of the run and feed layers pellets. Very confusing...

[Flummery]

There are 2 kinds of grit that chickens need. One is the rough 'stone' grit that goes into the gizzard for food grinding purposes. The oyster shell (or other shell) grit is the one that provides calcium. If birds are very short of calcium it helps to give them a couple of drops of cod-liver oil in their feed becasue the Vit D helps the calcium to be absorbed. You often get a mixed grit which should contain enough of both.

[tlck9]

I have come by a large amount of scallop shells, I wondered if I crush these would I be able to use them

[Flummery]

If they are fine enough I'd think so. I find bits of cockle in mine!