Consistent pale, thin shelled eggs

[zoella16]

Hi again,

I wrote on here a couple of weeks ago about our Gingernut Ranger who laid a pale, thin shelled egg followed by a shell less egg. We deduced that she must have seen the fox in the night or something but this problem didn't go away; now she regularly lays pale, thin shelled eggs that are often broken by the time I go to collect them. We had one really peculiar shaped one as well.

The hens have access to layers pellets, water, ACV and grit at all times - could this be a dietary problem or something worse? I have read about egg drop syndrome but she has only been laying for around 3 months and it's only one of the 2 hens.

If they are pale, thin shelled eggs are they still okay to eat? And should I be doing anything now?

 

[Margaid]

Is it the yolk or the shell that's pale? Layers pellets usually have a colourant in them - either artificial or natural like marigold petals. My hens are fed mixed grain and free range and all the yolks are different colours. Do they just have grit or is it mixed with oystershell in it? I managed to get a soft shelled egg indoors without breaking. I nicked the membrane with kitchen scissors and dropped the egg into a cup.. The yolk was huge, hardly any white and the egg was yummy. I'd try breaking one into a cup and then you can decide whether or not you want to eat it. My only concern would be if she had an infection of some kind but I'm sorry I can't help on that.

 

[zoella16]

The eggs themselves look fine, it is just the shell that's very strange. They have grit separately next to their feeder. Yes that's what I'm worried about, I read about egg drop and if it's that you can't eat the eggs but I don't know how to tell!

Thanks,

Zoe

 

[zoella16]

It is common for the eggs to look like this as well...

 

[Margaid]

I'm not familiar with the Gingernut Ranger - what colour eggs does she normally lay? How often does she lay? What is the orangey/yellow in the photo? Is it the yolk near the shell or discolouration? I've also looked at egg drop syndrome and the main symptom is a serious drop in egg production.

I'm not experienced, just fairly good at research so hope that someone more knowledgeable will pick up the thread.

 

[zoella16]

Her eggs are usually dark brown (like the smaller circle in the photo) only they have started appearing either fully white or as per the picture with strange circular patterns on, very chalky and rough like sandpaper. She is still laying everyday, this has been going on for approx 2 weeks. I read that EDS "is characterised by production of soft-shelled and shell-less eggs in apparently healthy birds, leading to a sudden drop in recorded egg production" however the production of malformed, ridged eggs is not typical of EDS and we haven't had a sudden drop in egg production (yet) - The photo attached is the one from this morning, ridged with brown/red on the tip.

So I'm really confused! It's the only thing I can liken it to because she is otherwise healthy. I know that it says ducks and geese are carriers but they won't have come into contact with either of those.

I also read that there are no human health risks but I'm just not sure, there's something not so appetising about eating an egg that you are worried is infected!

Thanks for your help Margaid, yes I'm hoping someone will recognise the symptoms 19

 

[foxy]

In this case there could be a problem with her shell gland. Now this can be due to a virus..Infectious Bronchitis here in the UK being the most prevalent. or due to underlying tumours in that area, more common in older layers though
Sometimes in a young layer this things right themselves after a period of "off lay" when their egg laying machinery gets a break from a long period of in lay, especially so for the prolific layers such as hybrids.
All you can do at this point is make sure she stays healthy, access to a good diet including quality crushed oyster shell which contains soluble calcium (check your grit) add a table spoon of cod liver oil once a week to pellets and a pinch of poultry spice minerals

 

[zoella16]

Thanks foxy I will do that

 

[Margaid]

How is she now?

Something similar came up on another forum and this link was posted:

http://www.alltech.com/sites/default/files/alltech-egg-shell-quality-poster.pdf

The last but one egg on the bottom row looks very like the pair in the photo.

 

[zoella16]

Thanks Margaid, that's a great piece of info to have. Yes they are the same aren't they, that's helpful.

She actually went back to laying normal eggs for a couple of weeks when I started giving her extra oyster shell and cod liver oil however, the reason I came back on here today is because she hasn't laid an egg yet today and she is sat all hunched up in the corner of the run. I was thinking oh no not again - but I think as she did return to 'normal' I can probably rule out any disease. It's actually made me think it's the heat/sunshine as last time this happened was during a spell of good weather as well. She is a red head after all!

I will report back when we finally do get the egg.

 

[chrismahon]

Could be egg bound Zoella16. Check her vent. If it is pulsating she is trying to lay and needs attention. Bowls of warm water are often recommended placed under the vent to relax her, but we just pick them up for a seated cuddle and a fuss and that usually does it. A wipe of Vasceline inside the vent can help a lot.

 

[zoella16]

This has happened a few times now and she always eventually lays and when she does it's a peculiar egg - either ridged or has the calcium bands on it. As expected, last time it was one similar to the pic of the 2 eggs I posted. It lasts for a few days and then she is back to normal again. On the picture that Margaid posted the 2 types of egg I can relate them to both have stress as a cause for the egg - I'm thinking it must be heat stress as she isn't ill and her eggs always go back to normal. It's the only thing I can think of. I need to get her a little sun bonnet I think