Explained: Why Njeri's Chicken Produced Eggs With a Tail

A graphic showing an abnormal egg laid by one of the young layers at Njeri's firm [POULTRY INDEPTH]

Njeri, a first-time poultry farmer in Kenya recently came out on social media seeking to hear from well-established farmers. She had been bothered by a strange feature noticed on one of the eggs laid by one of the hens at her firm. It was the first time her birds were starting to lay.

"My chicken laid this egg earlier today, could there be a problem? It does not have a hard shell," she inquired on one of the Facebook Groups for poultry farmers in Kenya.

Most poultry farmers in Kenya rely on social media for quick advice on matters regarding farm practice. They seek advice from peers on various subjects such as poultry feeding programmes, vaccination and marketing for their produce oblivious of the risk of misinformation that lacks across a majority of the platforms. In most cases, random social media users are quick to make definitive recommendations to inquiries made on social media and just like Njeri, one gets hundreds of responses with each carrying its own recommendation.

One of the inaccurate explanations given by a user posing as a poultry farmer was that Njeri's chicken may have been exposed to a rodent or mounted by a cat at night leading to the production of the abnormal egg with a tail-like end. She was even asked to slaughter it. Some said it was as a result of bad omen.

According to Okuta Ngura, a verified poultry farming expert and veterinary officer in Kenya, most poultry farmers might have seen this condition in their flock where some birds produce one or two eggs that have an elongated end.

"This condition is caused by the presence of a weak eggshell. The sharp end of the egg gets stuck in the vent during the laying process and after solidification when the shell is cooling, it forms a tail-like thing attached to the egg.

"The weak eggshell could be as a result of high temperature and humidity, toxins, internal parasites, general stress, moulting, excessive phosphorous consumption and old age in hens," explained the consultant.

The addition of a tail-like growth is therefore likely caused by a hen trying to pass her soft-shelled egg and in the process, the end portion of the egg gets stuck until the entire product is able to harden and eventually be passed entirely.

There are other weird eggs that can be produced by chicken depending on several factors such as age, their level of stress and feeding. We will break down all these abnormalities in our next article.

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