Part of the joy of owning backyard chickens is the horror. They do some pretty crazy shit these birds. Attack cats, try to eat each others faces, I even have one that's a hermaphrodite.
They're really a most interesting pet even without the egg laying talent. Speaking of eggs (see how I transitioned so smoothly there? It's part of what makes me such a talented writer. That and the way I can make up words but have you think they're actual words. Like pencil.)
When you have backyard chickens, or any chickens for that matter, you may happen upon a misshapen or odd looking egg. The benefit to being a backyard chicken is your owners don't generally chop your heads off for the offence. Usually.
I've had eggs with bumps, cracks and ridges come out of my hens. And last week Cheez Whiz laid this one on me.
That would be an egg with no shell. It has the membrane that surrounds the egg. But no shell. At all. Anywhere. This was day two for the egg so it's lost some of the air inside it making it sort of floppy. But just the day before the egg was smooth and tight just like a regular egg, but with no shell.
The above egg is one of Cheez Whiz's normal eggs. The chickens are just finishing up one of their moulting periods and sometimes it takes them an egg or two to get back into the swing of things. I noticed her eating copious amounts of oyster shell after she laid this egg with no shell so she knew she screwed up. Oyster shells gives hens the calcium they need to produce good, hard shells.
You can see just how translucent the egg's membrane is.
To give you a better idea of what the egg was like, take a look at this handy video I made.
Since this offence, Cheez Whiz has gone back to laying normal eggs. Which is a little more appealing, but a little less pencil.
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We had chickens when I was growing up and I remember that happened once, the chicken was startled (I don't recall why) and as she ran off out it dropped.
I love seeing the various lumps and bumps that come from yard chicken eggs! I have gotten a few of those eggs with no shell and they are totally crazy.
Pencil this - in "Old Yeller", didn't the dog get in big trouble for stealing eggs, when in fact he was just licking up ones that had been laid without a shell, accountin' on the hens had eaten a swarm of dragonflies an' it just done went thataway?
it looks like one of those new-agey crystal quartz lamps in yoga studios!
EWWWWWWW!
Missing my backyard hens! Thanks for sharing! Love it!!
:( ~ karen
My girls have laid a handful of those in their year of laying so far. It always concerns me but they keep on as usual, so I do as well. I call them water balloon eggs. I'm always tempted to something with them other than put them in the trash but good reminder about the bacteria. Glad mine are not the only ones with squishy eggs! I just want to know how you know it was Cheese Whiz and not one of the others.....Thanks Karen!
I'll be getting my 1st order of chickens next month. Perhaps I should have checked the "shells not optional" box. Ick. I'll be building your no spill feeder soon... maybe you can create an egg separator. Nice yummy eggs this way...creep, nasty, scary eggs ~ over there please!
LOL. Good luck there missy. :) ~ karen
How do you choose music for a video like that?
LOL. It was a curious one that's for sure. ~ karen!
Every time I see this post title, I wonder "how could there be a chicken without a bone?" And then "how can there be a cherry without a stone?" Interesting post, Nana - I didn't know there could be an egg without a shell! :)
I love weird egg stories. :D
I felt like I was watching a ballet....so graceful!
Thanks for the video...now it's all so real for me! We want property, and chickens come with that dream...so I now one more crazy thing that can happen with chickens in our lives.
Odd creatures.
Today one of my hens laid a 118g egg.
That's four freaking ounces!!
Every time I look at it I wince
Just wondering what you use in your run. Every time I search your site I get the same articles. Is sand alright? We got three chicks the end of April (because of you!) and I'm confused as to what to put in there. Any advice would be much appreciated!
Hi Sharman - I prefer to use straw in the outside run and pine shavings on the inside run. Although I think at the moment I have straw in there. Some people use sand but I find it unless you have crazy great drainage, it stays wet a long, long time. Also laying straw down lasts quite a long time (a month or so in the summer even with rain getting on it) and then you can compost it along with the poop. Breaks down in another month. So it's a perfect full circle model. You can search my site for "hot compost" to show you how I do it. ~ karen!
Egg-cellant choice of music!
I don't know which is funnier..a shell less chicken egg or the fact that you named a hen CheezWhiz.
I have to say, to me personally, this is the grossest thing you posted yet! I own two backyard chickens and I'm so glad I have not had any eggs like that yet. lol I would definitely leave it in their coop until they figure out how to fix that egg and give us a normal one.
so I'm wondering how you managed to collect the egg without a huge mess on you!
That's how strong the membrane is! If she cold push it out of her vent and have it splat on the nesting box floor, picking it up wasn't going to be a problem. :) ~ karen
I have to say that I found that very interesting.