consistently getting soft shelled eggs

[jmp-pdx]

So... I got 6 pullets on 3/10 to add to my existing flock of 5. Some were laying, some just starting. All 11 are red sex links from the same farm and were born Aug/Sept 2014.

On the 11th, 22nd and 24th I got a soft shelled egg.

I got at least 1 if not 2 between the 11th and 22nd, I can't remember. One of them was super tiny, only 22g with no yolk. The others have been M or L size in grams. On the 22nd it had a 'grainy' feel to the outside of it rather than smooth so I was hoping she was 'trying' to produce the shell but didn't and it was starting to work itself out, but the soft shell on the 24th was smooth again.

My girls have leg bands so I can tell them apart and I've caught the white one in the box twice after laying the soft shell so I know she laid at least 2 of them if not all of them.

My question... How long do I give her to get it right??

Today was the first time it was broken in the nest box. Thankfully it didn't appear that anyone ate it as the box was an icky mess.

Yes they have plenty of access to oyster shell and are fed organic layer pellets. All the others' eggs are just fine, I got 9 today including the soft shell so I know at least 9 of the 11 are laying.

UGH, HELP!??!?

thx

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Tell me this. Is the shell soft or is it thin? Soft is pretty much no shell, just membrane. Thin is clearly a shell just thin and fragile.

ETA
By the way, good detective work on your part so far.

 

[jmp-pdx]

the first egg on the 11th looked like this:


the last 2-3 looked like this:


I just cut into the one from the 22nd, inside looks fine, outside is 'paper thin':




today's egg I really didn't study so I don't know what it was cuz I wanted it out of there before they got any ideas to start eating eggs since it was broken

thx for the compliment... I'm trying to be diligent on catching the soft shell layer but they aren't cooperative in laying when I have time to spy on them

 

[ChickenCanoe]

The first one looks like a thin shell. The other looks like a shell-less egg.

It can be nutritional or disease. Thin shells can be Infectious Bronchitis. No shell can be influenza. There are other things that are more rare. A gritty thin shell can be Egg Drop Syndrome but unlikely since that's usually with mature hens.

That brings us to nutrition. There needs to be a delicate balance between calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D3.

Are they getting layer feed? Do they have oyster shell available in a separate container? Are they getting treats, table scraps or scratch grains?

 

[jmp-pdx]

The first one looks like a thin shell. The other looks like a shell-less egg.

It can be nutritional or disease. Thin shells can be Infectious Bronchitis. No shell can be influenza. There are other things that are more rare. A gritty thin shell can be Egg Drop Syndrome but unlikely since that's usually with mature hens.

That brings us to nutrition. There needs to be a delicate balance between calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D3.

Are they getting layer feed? Do they have oyster shell available in a separate container? Are they getting treats, table scraps or scratch grains?

Are they getting layer feed? YES
Do they have oyster shell available in a separate container? YES
Are they getting treats, table scraps or scratch grains? YES

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Other things that can cause thin shells are mycotoxins, excess phosphorus consumption and heat stress.

Until this gets straightened out, cut out all the treats and keep them on layer feed only and see if it improves.
Keep the oyster shell available though.

 

[aart]

Sounds like you might have gotten someone else culls....ditto on the good info given.
Hopefully if that's so, it's just the one.....or best yet, the diet change might work it out-I'd give that at least a couple weeks.

Best of cLuck to ya!

 

[jmp-pdx]

well he sells regularly, it's his business, and I got 2 from him a few years ago and they were super healthy birds.

The other 10 are fine... I suspect it's just this one bird with the soft/shell-less eggs that's why I'm baffled.

There was lots of feather picking/roost bar fighting when they moved in, the first 5 didn't like them invading their turf. Maybe it's stress?

 

[aart]

well he sells regularly, it's his business, and I got 2 from him a few years ago and they were super healthy birds.

The other 10 are fine... I suspect it's just this one bird with the soft/shell-less eggs that's why I'm baffled.

There was lots of feather picking/roost bar fighting when they moved in, the first 5 didn't like them invading their turf. Maybe it's stress?

It's possible, Could just be an off bird, that happens sometimes.
Only time will tell, it's hard to wait but sometimes that's all, and the best thing, you can do.

 

[jmp-pdx]

caught the white one in the box today, another egg just like the 2nd picture. Shell-less