Tiny Soft Egg

[Frenchhens]

Hello, I am new to this forum and was wondering if anyone could offer me advice?
I have three hens and one cock. Only one hen is laying at the moment - not sure if the others have retired or simply taking a summer holiday! However, this morning I found a very small soft egg, jelly like in texture. I'm not sure which of my hens is responsible for this, but I am worried there may be a health problem. All hens have been wormed and recently treated for lice. They are fed on a mixed grain diet, supplemented with oyster shells, general food scraps and also range free in our forest during the day/cooped at night. Can anyone shed any light on my current finding? Thank you.

 

[chrismahon]

Welcome to the forum. It may or may not have a yolk in it Frenchhens but at this time of year, coming into moult, it is perfectly normal. It is simply a shelless egg and not a cause for concern about diet, which sounds fine, depending on the nature of kitchen scraps of course.

Sounds like they have a nice life.

 

[Gavin1985]

I found one of these a while back on the coop floor and was tempted to bounce it like a bouncy ball lol.

 

[Frenchhens]

Thanks for the info folks! Was beginning to worry! It's very hot here in France at the moment, so that will influence the egg production! However, i'm hoping they lay soon as i'm refusing to buy eggs and my boys are missing their cakes!!!

 

[Marigold]

Hi Frenchhens,
You didn't say how old your hens are, this will make a difference, as will whether they are purebreds or egglaying hybrids. it's normal in the UK to feed layers pellets because it has the right mix of protein, calcium and other nutrients to help keep hens laying. Maybe this is hard to obtain in France? I know many people are successful when feeding a mixed grain diet but you do have to do the balancing of nutrients for yourself. Chris is right in saying that hens approaching the end of a period in lay do sometimes lay soft shelled eggs, but so do elderly hybrids (ie those more than 2-3 years old) who are coming to the end of their best laying time of life. Because they generally lay nearly every day for the first couple of years they do use up their egg cells faster than many purebreds, who take life at a more leisurely pace. Absorbing enough calcium to go on making strong shells does seem to become harder for them as they get older, whatever they are fed on. You'll just have to wait and see what happens, but the soft egg in itself isn't harmful to the hen, or abnormal.

 

[chrismahon]

Whereabouts in France are you Frenchhens ?

 

[Frenchhens]

We are in the South of France, I buy feed that was recommended to me by a local chicken farmer. The hens must be between two and three years old now, I acquired two from a friend who was closing his organic chicken farm and the other I bought at 6 months old. They are regional egglayers (or were) and not purebreds! Perhaps I need to accept that their laying days may be drawing to an end and I have to resort to buying eggs once again!

 

[Marigold]

It certainly sounds as if they are commercial hybrids, doesnt it? I expect the food is fine, and it may be that as you say they are past their best, but if no other problems with their egglaying equipment such as prolapse occur, they should go on laying after moulting or just having a break, albeit at a lesser rate. They may perhaps produce more soft eggs or ones with funny shapes as time goes on. They are now at the age where a farmer would cull them because as a flock they would be getting less productive of saleable quality eggs, but there's no reason they can't go on being useful pets for a while yet.