Woman's horrifying discovery in Aussie backyard: 'New fear unlocked'
As Australia grapples with rising egg prices amid a national shortage, one woman's discovery may put you off setting up a backyard chook pen.
As a national egg shortage inspires many Aussies to set up their own backyard chook pens, one woman’s horrifying discovery may put you off your homegrown omelette. While collecting eggs from her chicken coop, she found one with a “meat consistency” in the laying box, which also appeared to have been pecked at.
She shared the photo on social media and asked her fellow poultry enthusiasts what had caused the egg-shaped nightmare and was inundated with hundreds of comments suggesting the answer was everything from staph, to salmonella and Ecoli.
“Wash up and scrub out the whole coop,” one wrote. “You have a very ill chicken and hopefully you won’t get ill also.” Several described it as a "horror" sight and said they'd never seen anything like it.
However, Professor Bob Doneley, from the University of Queensland’s School of Veterinary Science, told Yahoo News Australia the “lash egg” shown in the photo had been caused by either an infection or inflammation in the chicken’s uterus, neither of which were contagious to other birds or humans, but the hen needed to see a vet.
“It’s basically a very hard-boiled soft egg or a big lump of pus,” he said. “Both of these things are described colloquially by people as being ‘lash eggs’.”
What is the cause of lash eggs?
Doneley said the chicken’s oviduct carried the yolk, which was formed in the ovaries, and added on the egg white and shell membrane before reaching the uterus where it sat for around 23 hours until it was ready to be laid.
“With lash eggs, for some reason it does not get a shell put on before it sits in the uterus, meaning you end up with a hard-boiled egg,” he explained.
“Or it could be a big lump of pus coming from infection or inflammation in the oviduct. The inflammation is the problem and infection is the thing that causes it.”
Doneley said inflammation could be the result of a bacterial infection which in turn can cause caseous pus, which was Latin for “cheese-like”, and may result in reproductive problems.
“Over the last 100 years, chickens have generally been selected to mature at a young age to lay eggs prolifically. Nature did not intend a bird to do that,” he added.
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What should you do if you find a lash egg in your coop?
Dr Jose A. Quintero, from Sydney University’s School of Veterinary Science, said lash eggs were produced when a hen suffers from salpingitis, which can be caused by bacteria entering into the shell gland before the shell was formed, thereby infecting the egg.
“The ‘meaty’ appearance comes from the decomposition and caseous material, with or without the presence of shell membrane and egg content,” he told Yahoo News.
Quintero suggested using gloves to put the lash egg into a plastic bag and disposing of it in the bin before washing your hands.
While the condition can’t be transmitted to other hens, he advised disinfecting the coop, replacing the bedding material and taking the infected bird to the vet for a course of antibiotics.
In the comment section of the woman's post, many people correctly identified her discovery as a lash egg and offered their advice, while one person wrote: “New fear unlocked” and another added, “That’s called a ball of nope.”
Aussie avian flu outbreak saw one million birds culled
In total, Australian farm chickens produce 18.3 million eggs each day to feed the nation, with the average commercial hen laying between 260 and 300 a year.
The recent avian flu outbreak saw more than one million birds culled to prevent the infection from spreading, while Woolworths and Coles customers in some states were restricted to a two-pack limit on egg purchases and supermarket fridges were left bare for days.
As farmers grapple to recover their losses, one supermarket boss has warned Aussies they may be forced to pay more for the popular brekkie staple during an already tough cost of living crisis.
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