What the shell happened?

WHAT THE SHELL HAPPENED?

4/29/2017

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):

results in misshapen eggs; wavy, wrinkled, ridges, "body-checked"
egg may be halted and extra shell is added causing ridges/ waves

I can't think of any abnormal stressful situations our hens have been in. They do need more roosts. That's my best bet to our groovy eggs.

disease

The most common disease related to eggshell issues is infectious bronchitis:

highly contagious
sneezing, gasping
watery discharge from eyes and nostrils
albumin thinning
continual misshapen eggs
pale eggs (that should be brown)
can permanently damage the shell gland

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.