African Hen laying odd eggs

[shane13]

I have an older African hen that I have only had less than a year. She lays consistent but her eggs are lacking what I think is the final coat of the shell. The eggs are gritty to the touch like coarse sand paper. She is a Quality goose and I would love to reproduce out of her. Her eggs loose to much liquid/moisture. I would love to here some recommendations from you. I have her on a quality feed and oyster shell. I just don't know what to do next.

[goosedragon]

You could try some vitamins, I think vit.D is supposed to help with Calcium management, frankly it sounds like she has a malfunction in her oviduct which you can do nothing about. Consider that she may never produce a hatchable egg and if she does her female offspring may have the same defect. I wish I could give you an easy answer but I just don't know of any.

[tinag210]

I have a sebastopol that lays the same. I have to agree that it's probably a malfunction in her oviduct. She is not an old hen and is on the same diet that my others are & they lay fine.

[Oregon Swedes]

Maybe you could coat the eggs in something that is breathable but slows down moisture flow. Sorry, the only thing that comes to mind is Gortex, and I don't know how you'd coat an egg with that.

It's possible that it is a birth defect or an injury. That system is rather delicate. If you could get some eggs hatched and gets some of her daughters, you'd soon learn if it was genetic or not.

Vitamin D sounds good, but I don't know why a bird living outside and exposed to sunlight would be short on vitamin D. You don't keep her full time out of the sun, do you?

Phosphorus is also needed for calcium use, although I don't know if it has anything to do with egg shells.

[Oregon Swedes]

Try coating a couple of the eggs with Liquid Bandage and see what happens when you put them in the incubator.

[Evy]

Try coating a couple of the eggs with Liquid Bandage and see what happens when you put them in the incubator.

A bit of nail polish on a crack works, but coating a whole egg will inhibit any growth. Those ''sandy'' eggs are always thin. Toss them & if you know which bird is laying them, get rid of her, too.

[Altair]

At first I thought an oil but that would cover pores and limit oxygen intake. That's how they did a cormorant kill a while back here. I can't theoretically think of a substance or way that would balance the moisture/air intake. It's a shame of a defect for an otherwise sound bird.

[Angela]

I agree 100% with Evy.
I've seen this in one or two of my waterfowl over the years. It never ends well, and it's best to cull the bird.

Angela

[goosedragon]

Maybe you could coat the eggs in something that is breathable but slows down moisture flow. Sorry, the only thing that comes to mind is Gortex, and I don't know how you'd coat an egg with that.

It's possible that it is a birth defect or an injury. That system is rather delicate. If you could get some eggs hatched and gets some of her daughters, you'd soon learn if it was genetic or not.

Vitamin D sounds good, but I don't know why a bird living outside and exposed to sunlight would be short on vitamin D. You don't keep her full time out of the sun, do you? In some animals, the presence of fur or feathers blocks the UV rays from reaching the skin. In birds and fur-bearing mammals, vitamin D is generated from the oily secretions of the skin deposited onto the fur and obtained orally during grooming.[16]-Wikipedia So maybe check if her oil gland is working~gd

Phosphorus is also needed for calcium use, although I don't know if it has anything to do with egg shells.

yep vitimin D is thought to control the use of both calcium and phosphorus