It can be alarming for a backyard chicken keeper to find an egg without a shell nestled in the nesting box. Known as a rubber or soft-shelled egg, they occur when the outer covering of the egg does not fully form. While strange, these shell-less eggs are usually not a cause for concern.
What Causes A Chicken To Lay A Soft Egg?
There are a few common reasons why a chicken may lay an egg without a proper shell
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Just Starting To Lay Eggs: Young pullets laying for the first time often produce some soft eggs as their reproductive systems mature. This is temporary.
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After Molting Or Broodiness When chickens stop laying for an extended period, like during their annual molt or while broody, their first eggs returning can lack shells This rights itself shortly
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Insufficient Calcium The shell is over 95% calcium carbonate. Diets deficient in calcium common in free ranging flocks lead to thin or missing shells. Providing a supplement rectifies this.
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Stress: Stress from predators, overcrowding, relocation, illness, etc. can impact shell production. Reducing stressors often resolves the problem.
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Advancing Age: Older hens sometimes have trouble forming shells as their egg production naturally declines. Soft eggs are likely to persist in aging chickens.
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Disease/Reproductive Issues: Medical conditions affecting the oviduct and shell gland can cause soft eggs long term. This includes issues like egg drop syndrome.
Is A Soft Egg Safe To Eat?
While rubbery and abnormal looking, a soft egg with an intact membrane is safe for humans to consume if broken open immediately before cooking. Without the shell the contents spoil rapidly so soft eggs cannot be saved like normal ones. The flavor and nutritional value remains the same.
What To Do If Your Chicken Lays A Soft Egg
Isolate and discard any compromised soft eggs. Boosting calcium intake resolves many shell issues:
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Provide a quality layer feed designed for eggs production
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Offer a supplemental source of calcium like oyster shell
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Improve nutrition by reducing treats and restricting free ranging
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Increase calcium absorption by adding Vitamin D and magnesium
Consider if stressors need to be addressed. Soft eggs in older chickens often cannot be fixed. If the problem persists or recurs frequently, consult an avian vet to rule out reproductive disease. With small adjustments, your chicken should be back to laying hard-shelled eggs in no time.
Beware: Eggs with No Shell Rot Quickly
I set aside the first water balloon egg we got so my son could see it when he returned from a backpacking trip. I assumed it was the only one we would ever see. Less than 48 hours later, it had a significant smell to it and I was glad I had kept it in the garage. Best not to keep these eggs for very long because they spoil quickly.
What is Going On?
Was one of my chickens sick? Which one? The egg had no shell so there was no color to hint at who had laid this aberration. I was feeding my flock Scratch and Peck brand organic feed and offering flaked oyster shell free choice in their coop since the first egg appeared. (Afflinks) I knew my sweet hens were getting enough calcium through their diet and free ranging, despite more than one website insisting feeding practices were to blame. Finally, I found one fellow backyard owner who knew the true reason: Hens who have just begun laying are sometimes prone to laying shell-less eggs! And I had fourteen hens just coming into lay who could potentially experience this issue. If the hens had a good quality feed, access to oyster shell and clean water, the only “fix” was giving them time for their bodies to fall into a correct laying rhythm.
The next day there was a broken, semi-soft, only half shelled egg under the roost which seemed to have been laid in someone’s sleep. Later that day one hen laid a YOLK. No shell, no membrane. A straight liquid yolk! The day after that a fourth hen laid another water balloon-like egg, a Barred Rock laid an over-calcified egg that had a milky white, chalky coating and then the flock went 24 hours with almost no eggs laid.
Why Did My Chicken Lay an Egg with no Shell???
FAQ
Why did my chicken lay an egg with no shell?
A shell-less egg, also known as a soft-shelled egg, is usually caused by a calcium deficiency or stress in the hen. It can also occur in young hens just starting to lay or older hens nearing the end of their laying cycle.
Do chickens recover from egg drop syndrome?
What is an egg without a shell called?
The eggs can also be called fart eggs, cock eggs, fairy eggs, dwarf eggs, and witch eggs. The name wind eggs is also sometimes used, but this term more often refers to eggs without a shell, or with a soft shell, and less often to eggs that are rotten or unfertilized.
What do you feed chickens to make their egg shells stronger?
Give them oyster shells. You can mix crushed shells in with food or put a bowl of just crushed oyster shells in a food bowl for them to eat. The calcium will build stronger shells.