Weird Chicken Eggs and What They Mean
Bumpy, pale, rough, or misshapen eggs are more common in layers over two years old. Here are reasons for weird chicken eggs and what they mean for your feathered friends.
By Dalia Monterroso, The President of Chickenlandia
In just a few short weeks, I’ll be celebrating my 50th birthday. While I’m sure many of you have already sailed gracefully into the half-a-century club, the realization that I’m no longer a spring chicken has been rough on me. As with most of life’s challenges, spending time with my flock helps. Their antics bring clarity to my mind and a bounce back into my step. It also brings eggs. Lots of delicious eggs. But lately, I’ve gotten a few oddly shaped eggs and even one that looked more like a rubber ball than an ovum. Does this mean my chickens are sick? Or maybe they’re just too dang old?
Spring Chicks, Fall Chickens
If you acquired baby chicks this past spring and you have yet to be gifted eggs, don’t worry, they’re coming soon. You may have already seen signs of their impending arrival. Perhaps you have a hen that has started to squat when you get near her (this means she loves you, maybe a little too much), or maybe you’ve observed notable comb and wattle growth with a deepening red color on some of them. You’ve possibly even heard your pullets practicing the so-called “egg song.” You know the tune, it goes: Bawk, Bawk, BagAWWWK! These behaviors and visual changes signal that your flock will soon enter their laying stage of life, a stage that’s full of flavor, joy, and new beginnings.
When chickens commence laying for the first time or when they start up again after a break, it’s not uncommon to observe the occasional abnormality, such as shell-less eggs (these appear rubbery and break open easily), unusually small eggs, or bumpy or misshapen eggs. You may also see disproportionately large eggs with double yolks or even an egg with no yolk at all. As long as these incidents don’t become chronic and your chickens are acting normal, try not to worry. Laying eggs is hard work, and sometimes, when chickens are just starting or getting back into it, things can get a little weird. I can’t even imagine what it would be like to ovulate almost daily!
All the above being said, if you’re observing irregular eggs on a regular basis, it’s time to consider the potential causes and determine if there’s any action you need to take.
Peri-henopause
Just like humans, as a hen ages, she’ll begin to experience changes in her reproductive system. This is especially noticeable in high production breeds; chickens that once laid almost daily will slow down considerably after their second year of life, and the eggs they do lay may appear different than the ones in their prime. Bumpy, pale, rough, or misshapen eggs are more common in layers over two-years-old. Focusing on a balanced diet and staying on top of the overall health of older chickens is important not only when avoiding funky eggs, but also other reproductive and general health issues.
Nutrition Does a Chicken Good
The most common advice chicken keepers receive when they notice egg problems is to give their flock more calcium in the form of a store-bought supplement or their birds’ own egg shells fed back to them. Calcium is indeed an important part of a laying hen’s nutrition, but it’s not the only nutrient they need for their reproductive systems, or any part of their body, to function normally. Instead of thinking about your flock’s nutrition in a compartmentalized way, ask yourself if your chickens are getting balanced nutrition overall.
In Chickenlandia, the Chicken Food Pyramid serves as a basic guide to help you feed your flock a balanced diet in a way that feels second nature to you.
On the bottom tier, we have chicken feed appropriate for the age and type of flock you have. For laying hens, it’s the best-quality layer feed you can afford.
The second tier is “healthy kitchen scraps.” Vegetables (leafy greens are best), low-sugar fruits, fodder, and sprouts are on this level.
On the top tier are “healthy treats.” This is where purchased items such as mealworms, grubs, and scratch grains go. It also includes table scraps with a higher protein, fat, or sugar content, such as scrambled eggs, whole milk yogurt, leftover corn, or grapes.
Following these simple guidelines will not only help your chickens to enjoy overall health but could also aid in the avoidance of chronic egg abnormalities or other reproductive issues.
Totally Stressing Out
We humans know how stress can negatively affect our health. For chickens, stress can also cause a host of problems, including disturbances in their laying process. If you have circumstances in your flock that are causing stress, don’t wait until you’re observing odd eggs or other problems. Things such as an overly soiled coop, a muddy chicken yard, insufficient space, or bullying must be handled swiftly before they turn into something that’s difficult to come back from. If your chickens are under temporary stress that’s unavoidable, such as nearby construction, a recent predator attack, or having to move coops, I have found that the Bach flower remedy Rescue Remedy can help to take the edge off. Give them a drop or two in their water daily during stressful times.
The Warning Signs of Illness
If you observe pale, wrinkled, or weak-shelled eggs on a regular basis and your chickens are not senior-aged, it’s unfortunately possible your flock is experiencing a health issue, such as exposure to dangerous molds, infectious bronchitis, or other illness. This is especially true if you’ve also noticed sneezing, lethargy, drainage from your birds’ nares or eyes, diarrhea, and of course, any deaths in your flock.
If illness could be the cause of your flock’s egg abnormalities, set up a critical care area for sick birds as far away from your coop as possible, then thoroughly clean your coop and keep it that way. There are supportive care actions you can take with your whole flock, such as adding safe medicinal herbs, like oregano and thyme, to their diet or mincing fresh garlic into their feed. Serious illness, however, especially if it appears to be affecting several members of your flock, may require treatment from a licensed veterinarian. I say this knowing the vet isn’t possible for every chicken keeper due to affordability and access. No matter your circumstances, do the best you can and take heart that you’ve given your chickens a great life. They’re fortunate to have you!
Stay Young, Go Chickening
In my current flock of 41 chickens, I have young ones, older ones, and those in their golden years. Sometimes, I enter their yard with the weight of half a century on my shoulders; literal aches and pains I can’t shake off as quickly as I used to. Lifting the feeder is tiresome. Emptying the waterer tweaks my back. Inevitably, though, these feelings are drowned-out by the calming sounds of my flock. Oblivious to numbers and age, they all maintain a spry nature; always pecking and scratching, always chatting away. Once again, the glimmer of child-like excitement returns to my eyes. I wonder what will these silly chickens will do next? Only time will tell, and I’ve still got a lot of time ahead of me.
Dalis Monterroso, also known as The President of Chickenlandia, is a backyard chicken educator in the Pacific Northwest. When she’s not teaching classes or doing seminars, you can find her on the popular YouTube channel Welcome to Chickenlandia, as well as across social media.
Originally published in the August/September 2024 issue of Backyard Poultry and regularly vetted for accuracy.
