Saturday, October 31, 2009

NO TREATS for Chicken TRICKSTERS!!!

Egg without a shell
This morning I went out to collect eggs and feed the hens. Upon opening the nest box, much to my surprise, I discovered "not an egg". One of the nests contained something flattened and tan colored - and NO - it was NOT a chicken turd!!! Once I got brave enough to pick it up and examine it, I discovered it was an egg without a shell!!! It was like picking up a water balloon, but it actually was a yolk with the membrane intact! NO SHELL!! One of the hens needed a talking to - the lazy little slacker! Then I remembered, it IS Halloween, after all. She was just a bit early with the TRICKS! No TREAT for THAT ONE! Geesh!

Of course it prompted me to do a search on the internet. This is what I discovered online at Poultry Help: The membrane was placed on the yolk, but it somehow slipped past the 'shell mechanism", and the shell was not deposited!

I've also discovered many double-yolked eggs - not uncommon in hens new to the working world! And from Tina, the pet hen I had owned years before, I learned about mis-shapen eggs, eggs with NO YOLK, and also about an egg WITHIN an egg!
Barred Rock fart egg

© Michelle Byerly 2004 - All Rights Reserved
Please note that the pictures are not my own, but were brought in from the website, Poultry Help. You may visit that link to read more about these egg oddities!!! And - Happy Halloween!!! TRICK OR TREAT!!!

9 comments:

NAK and The Residents of The Khottage Now With KhattleDog! said...

Happy HOWLoween!

I hope woo get lots of treats without any trikhks!

Hugz&Khysses,
Khyra
PeeEssWoo: Tank woo fur the eggciting post!

Angela said...

They are getting back at you and Mr. Wonderful for making them sleep in the dog houses for a few days! lol

Those pictures sure are wild to see. Especially the last picture which looks like another egg inside of an egg. I suppose you can never know what kind of egg you are going to get?????

Hugs,
Angela

ocmist said...

Wow, that is very interesting info. I'm familiar with double yolked eggs. My dad had a hen that was pretty consistant about that, but I'd never heard of no shell or eggs in an egg. I think Angela is right. They are getting back at you for disturbing their routine, as well as playing a trick on you. Happy Halloween to you, too!

We aren't keeping ALL of them, as we have a home for Gracie, but Hubby is keeping Pip, Robert is keeping Mercy, and I'm keeping Gimli, probably. They will all be getting neutered within the next few months... Dott too. Linda

Olde Dame Penniwig said...

Well bless that hen's heart. I hope all her "mechanisms" are okay.

Keetha Broyles said...

My sister's FIL used to have an egg farm - - - ONCE I helped gather eggs and I will NEVER forget how it felt when my hand touched one of those WARM shell-less eggs. Pretty Halloweenish!!!

I guess it happens with some regularity, of course when you have a commercial chicken house with 100's of chickens in it, you'll find them more often I guess.

Knitty said...

I just shared this info with Bill who asked where the heck did I learn this stuff? LOL! My secret panel of important information keeps me going!

Scout and Freyja said...

We is hopin' that you had just the bestest HOWL-o-weenie ever and ever with lots and lots of treats!

That egg stuff is SPOOKY! Never seen one of those!

^..^Corgidogmama said...

Egad...how ghoulish! I may never eat another egg! TMI for this squimish Hoosier gal! No shell...talk about a misfire. The oddities that occur in the henhouse need to stay in the henhouse! he hee.

Chatty Crone said...

I learning more about things then maybe I need to know (lol). Thanks for enlightening me.