What to do if a hen lays eggs without shells? Why don't ducks and geese have this problem? The sight of an egg lying without a shell is rather unpleasant. If a chicken lays an egg without a shell 1-2 times, this is an ordinary malfunction in the body, but if this is repeated regularly, you need to sound the alarm. There are several reasons why chickens lay eggshells.
Chickens lay eggs without shells
If a chicken laid an egg without a shell, you need to figure out the reason for the appearance of such a problem, and if the egg is completely without film, you urgently need to save the bird: this is the last stage of the disease. What to do? It is necessary to analyze all the factors.
The first signs of violation
When a chicken lays eggs without a shell, a film forms in its place. The egg itself looks normal, only its coating is not firm, it is very easy to damage it. There are times when a bird pushes an egg out of itself in the form of a liquid. At the same time, the chicken cannot leave the nest for a long time and behaves extremely restlessly. Treatment cannot be postponed.
The first reason is poor heredity.
The second reason is health problems: the laying hen has a weak reproductive system, and she cannot lay fully formed eggs. An individual may already be elderly, and therefore physically not have the ability to carry an egg in its shell. It is necessary to disassemble completely, inside and out, the physical condition of the bird, its nutrition, whether it was exposed to stress.
Main reasons
Factors of such a problem include poor ecology, improper diet, stress, hormonal disorders, changes in ovulation, age. If this problem is left to chance, you can be left without layers at all.
- Improper nutrition. Chickens usually lack calcium as well as various vitamins. Due to poor feeding, the chicken will have soft and wobbly bones (keels), which entails no shell. Shellwood, calcium, fine gravel are a good option at home to improve feeding for layers. But in the case of an excess of these components, a violation can go in the opposite direction: it will be difficult for a chicken to lay an egg. The first symptom will be that the laying hen sits in the nest for a long time and cannot get off it.
- Hormonal disruptions and disorders. Due to some stressful situations, the laying hen may fail in normal maturation and egg formation, which will lead to a large yield of eggs without shells.
- Infectious and viral diseases. This is one of the reasons that cannot be cured at home. There are many such diseases, but the most common are EDS-76; bird flu; pseudo-plague. In infected individuals, the egg may be of an unusual shape, with a soft shell or none at all.
- Formation of a rough and compacted egg shell surface. This indicates an insufficient amount of water in the body of pullets. In such cases, the chicken also cannot leave the nest for a long time, the function of egg production is impaired. Egg, enveloped with calcium, becomes dehydrated and unviable. Water problems can arise in winter. Laying hens must have constant access to water.
- Stressful situations. If hens are stressed, they need some time to move away. After a couple of days, they will begin to rush normally again.
The most correct solution for hormonal and viral diseases is to contact your veterinarian. Other birds, whether domesticated or not, do not have these problems. The reason for this is the large-scale production of eggs (usually 270-300 eggs per year) from hens. Among other things, problems such as double yolk, eggs with blood, and the like can also occur.
The first 11-19 eggs are small and this is normal.
The reason for the thin shell also lies in the lack of vitamins, calcium, phosphorus.
To prevent the manifestation of such a problem, it is enough to touch the large chicken bones on the legs: if they are weak, become soft, the reason lies in the absence of vitamin C, shell rock, which can be replaced with chalk, calcium, and ground shells. However, you should not give calcium in excess: this can contribute to the need for zinc, and then you need to re-calculate the correct diet.
Diseases and infections
This issue deserves more attention. Infectious diseases and viruses cannot be destroyed without knowing the parasite and the disease itself. That's what a veterinarian is for. As soon as the first signs of infection appear, an urgent need to call a doctor. Common viruses include pseudo-plague or Newcastle disease, mycoplasmosis, bird flu, encephalomyelitis, etc. These diseases impair the quality of eggs, destroy the reproductive system of laying hens, sometimes even with a lethal outcome.
- With pseudo-plague or Newcastle disease, the complete destruction of chickens occurs, and not only those contained in one chicken coop, but also in nearby ones. This virus spreads easily and quickly from the hen house to the hen house.
- Poultry suffering from infectious bronchitis or mycoplasmosis can be disposed of. The essence is the influence on the formation of the shell in the oviduct, its softening and destruction. The output is the same chicken egg in a soft film. However, this virus can also be cured with aerosols and various drugs, but only at an early stage of the development of the disease, otherwise the bird must be disposed of.
- One of these viruses - helminthiasis - is dangerous not only for the chicken coop, but also for humans. If you eat an infected chicken egg, the parasite enters the human body. Immunity is powerless against such a disease, so the sooner it is detected, the higher the chances that no one will get infected.
Prevention is the best solution to prevent viruses and infections. If preventive measures are taken correctly and in a timely manner, problems with the depletion of the shell of chicken eggs can be avoided.
What's with the chicken. Egg without shell.
What to do if chickens have soft egg shells
The chicken lays eggs without shell, only in a film.
Solution to the problem
What to do in this case?
- If the problem is poor food, it is worth examining the composition of the diet and completely changing it or adding the necessary components, vitamins and minerals. In stores it is easy to find many different mixtures, complementary foods, chalk, bone meal, calcium, phosphorus, shell rock.
- In the absence of vitamin D, individuals should be given fish oil. The cause of the problem is a sharp change in feed, a switch to mash from another manufacturer. The main thing is to choose the right quality compound feed and not to overdo it with the addition of various mixtures.
- As mentioned above, in case of viruses and infections, it is better to immediately contact a veterinarian, he will determine the cause of the disease, irritant and method of treatment. The veterinarian can also determine what is missing in the chicken's diet and correct the situation.
In order for the chickens to continue to lay, be healthy and eat well, you need to regularly examine and monitor the health of the entire chicken coop, this will not only allow you to get the necessary product, but also save the life of the livestock.