What the shell happened?! My chicken laid a wavy egg! WTF?!
Every so often chickens lay odd shaped eggs. This was the first wavy eggshell I had seen our chickens lay....
So, I did some research into egg shell deformities....
Sometimes hens lay misshaped or soft eggs, which may result from stress, disease, or a defective shell gland.... apparently ;) stress
Stress can be caused by weather (such as a storm), predators, loud noises, or coop issues (not enough roosts/ boxes):
disease
The most common disease related to eggshell issues is infectious bronchitis:
defective gland
A defective shell gland can be an inherited gene or a result of disease and will produce odd eggs; shell-less, misshaped, speckled, calcium pimples. Hens with permanently damaged shell glands can have their oviduct removed. Most commonly, the hen is put down :(
We had to put down a hen recently for an unrelated reason. With the weather being so nice, we opened up the chicken and duck coops to a bigger grass area. The hen was attempting to pass by the ducks when the male duck attacked. It was either that or when I dropped a pallet on 4 of them by accident (I am not as strong as I was before pregnancy). Either way, it was an emotionally difficult process. It is never easy. I still find it hard to put into words, or to photograph or video, any part of processing. It's kind-of similar to making the decision to put your dog down. It's hard convincing yourself you made the right decision. Always second guessing. Like, what if? What if the chicken or dog was to get better? :(
Until next time.... stay gold. You'll love these too!
References: http://www.afn.org/~poultry/flkman3.htm
https://www.alltech.com/sites/default/files/alltech-egg-shell-quality-poster.pdf http://www.fresheggsdaily.com/2016/02/why-does-my-egg-look-weird-eggshell.html?m=1 http://www.yellowbirchhobbyfarm.com/weird-eggs-101-the-oddities-explained/ http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/health-and-common-diseases/egg-laying-issues/index.aspx http://www.poultrydvm.com/condition/immature-shell-gland
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