Internal Cracked Eggs

This Egg has been cracked while in the Oviduct of the hen.

Weird things happen to eggs while they are in the Oviduct of the chicken. I’ve posted a lot of photos of weird eggs but this one is one of the weirdest I think.

The hen who laid this egg got a heck of a jolt while the egg was making its way down the oviduct. A jolt hard enough to break the egg while the shell was forming. The hens body went ahead and patched the shell for her before it was laid. That is not always the case actually…

With hens, an egg cracking inside can be certain death. When this happens, if it’s not expelled by the hen, but is stuck inside, peritonitis usually kills the bird fairly quickly. You can look up peritonitis in the internet easily. It’s a nasty situation.

That is not the case with this lucky bird!  She is still laying those cracked eggs though…  I’m puzzled as to what is happening. I think I have an idea, but not certain if that’s the problem. I have one nest which is really high off the ground. The girls love that nest. I think she’s too heavy for the job of staying in the nest when others want in. She hops down before she has laid her egg, and it’s getting cracked before it’s out. Evidently, it’s not so badly cracked that the body can’t mend it when it happens.

Here’s what happens inside while in the laying process.

 I’m still learning on my journey, and I do like to share with you what I learn…

♥Chicken Mom♥

Egg Surprises

You  just never know what will come out of the rump of a hen… I mean hardly a day goes by which I don’t find myself a bit surprised with the sort of eggs I find in the nest. I find, Bumpy ones, LONGGGG ones, Short ones, Pale, Dark, Blotchy, Thin shelled, Leathery, Small Walnut sized ones. The list is inexhaustible!

Usually when I find a “Wind Egg” they are tiny with only the white inside. This time though, when I picked up the nugget off of the ground (which was unceremoniously dumped), cracking it revealed a small centered yolk. I was surprised really. Then I found myself wondering if it had been fertilized would it have made a “Little Chicken”?

Wind Egg with a yolk 

Then you get the other end of the spectrum on the same day, with a massive egg appearing, looking more like three normal size eggs in one.  I pity the poor gal which laid this egg.  I even looked at the hens and said, “I’m sorry”!

 

(That other egg, is an Extra Large. What we call a Regular size.)

When I cracked this Ginormous Egg for breakfast in the morning, I didn’t need to crack a second or a third.  It was just under 8 fluid ounces of deliciousness.

Here is an example of “leather eggs”. They are by far the most weird things ever laid.  The egg is normal inside the membrane casing, but the shell of the egg, never forms. This can happen because of stress, age or condition of the bird. This chicken egg was laid by my lovely (old lady) Black Sex Link. She’s going on nine years old now and every so often she’ll let the whole world know she laid, “something”… I’m always in a rush to find out what exactly!

Weird Leather Like Shelled 

Wishing you all a Lovely New Year!!

~Chicken Mom~ ♥