Small Egg

[crewy05]

Hi all, my khaki campbell has not laid a egg in probably 5/6 days, was outside in the garden to day when she gave a loud quack, looked over at her and she has laid a tiny egg, probably about the size of a large blackbird egg. Now i know how to help with laying issues, i.e extra callcium, clean water and so on. But i am wondering if anybody has ever had any thing else like this before and if so what happened after?

Thanks James

 

[Marigold]

Don't know about in ducks, but this often happens in chickens when something goes temporarily wrong in the egg production process and a very small egg is produced, usually with no yolk. (Have you cracked it open?) They are known as 'wind eggs' or less politely as 'fart eggs.' Not harmful, more usual in young pullets than in older birds
See also http://www.poultryhelp.com/oddeggs.html - it mentions fart eggs in several species but not in ducks. I shall be interested to hear what the duck experts have to say!

 

[crewy05]

Thanks for your reply maigold, forgot to mention the shell on the egg was very soft, so when i went to open the egg up the sorta shell around it slid off revelling the membrain. In the egg it's self was no yolk, so i guess that could mean what your saying could be correct. My campbell is coming up to 3 years old and up till now have never had any egg issue's with her. what happens with chickens after they lay these egg's? Do they go back to laying normally?

Thanks James

 

[Marigold]

When it happens in chickens they are most usually young pullets just starting to lay who haven't got the hang of it yet, though with older birds moving into the ' henopause' anything is possible. Chickens, and presumably ducks, (?) are born with all their potential egg cells and once these are used up they cease to lay, often going through a period of abnormal eggs, thin shells or none, funny shaped eggs etc. I don't know about whether this happens in ducks, maybe they are different as usually I suppose they're not bred for such intensive egg production as hybrid chickens. I hope someone experienced will come on and explain the differences, if any!

 

[dorsetduckowner]

Yes this happensin ducks the same as chickens, nothing to be concerned with unless she has more laying issues and soft shell eggs often
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