Soft egg laying under roost

Pics
perhaps its a beginning of them starting to lay again ?? I have found, a high protein and also giving them grit helps their egg shells better...
When my ladies started to molt it was with in about three weeks of each other except for my two Egyptians, they are still laying. I started. I started them on an 18% protein feed and Oyster shells.
 
One of my granddaughter found our first soft egg today. it was on the coop floor away from the nesting boxes. we have twelve ladies most of them started molting a couple months ago and quit laying. So i'm uncertain if this means one is going to start in again or if it one of the others.
I had a few of those in the early days of our hens laying, primarily our two Isa Browns but after we added some shell grit (the closest we can get to oyster shell), the eggs became fine afterwards. Typically though, I do think that this sort of problem is due to a lack of calcium, or something similar.
 
G'day Deacons,

I had one of my hens lay an almost identical egg to the one in your photo. The hen was out all day the day before while I was working on the hen house so she didn't come in to lay. The next morning she laid the deformed egg and about ten minutes later she laid another perfect egg. I put it down to the second egg pushing against the first egg as the hen held it until the next day thus laying the two right after each other. She has never done that again, it sounds funny but I now know when she wants to lay a egg as she starts a sort of low pitched cluck as if she is talking to me.

Hope this helps you out.
Cheers
Paul B
 
Interesting
jumpy.gif
 
G'day Deacons,

I had one of my hens lay an almost identical egg to the one in your photo. The hen was out all day the day before while I was working on the hen house so she didn't come in to lay. The next morning she laid the deformed egg and about ten minutes later she laid another perfect egg. I put it down to the second egg pushing against the first egg as the hen held it until the next day thus laying the two right after each other. She has never done that again, it sounds funny but I now know when she wants to lay a egg as she starts a sort of low pitched cluck as if she is talking to me.

Hope this helps you out.
Cheers
Paul B


Thanks, Paul. After the rubber egg and the wrinkled egg, nothing has been amiss. So strange they came on the same day, but based on shell color I think the rubber egg came from one of my golden laced Wyandotte pullets, and I think it may have been something to do with her being new to laying. I'm fairly certain the wrinkled one came from my barred rock, who is a mature layer and occasionally will have a "wavy" egg shell, though typically she's very consistent.

I have decided to put a plate of free choice oyster shell out, and I think they're eating more of it than I thought they needed previously (prior to this, I was just putting a small pinch in their scratch every day).

It's been interesting to hear everyone's stories, and glad this thread has been useful to so many people.
 
Dumb question but my pullers are 14 weeks and nothing yet, but are these soft and fart eggs edible?
 
I have a rescued leghorn (Lilly ) who frequently lays soft shells. Probably 3 a week. She's been doing this for 5 to 6 months. She also lays 2-3 decently shelled eggs a week.

When I rescued her she was near death - in a proper state with malnutrition diahorrea and mites. She weighed almost nothing.

I've had her on a careful diet, not too many treats and once we had her back in good health we bought a calcium supplement which was added to her water. She also had egg shells, oyster shells etc.

Because she is bred to produce a lot of eggs it's an uphill battle but I've noticed now the winter is setting in and daylight hours are shortening her eggs are a little better. I'm looking forward to her having a rest during the winter and hope it does her good.

It maybe that Lilly can't take up calcium properly but we'll see. The main thing is that she is a very happy hen, she's all better now has put weight back and regrown the feathers that were missing.

She's a real pleasure.
 
Last edited:
I really admire you!! Wow. I rescued two game birds about month ago. I have six hens but I cant mix these two with them. The two birds I rescued were badly malnourished. Someone dumped them!!! They are a pair, the male is golden and the female almost black, beautiful. She was badly injured. I nursed her back and he stayed by her side. They are so cute. I called them Hansel and Gretal. I still don't know what they are, they are not big like a chicken. I posted a blog about them with a picture on the tab for Breeds. If you go to the tab for what breed are these birds you will find my post.

I am happy to hear your hen is doing well. I am up tonight because my hens just had a awful scare and I myself as well, a possum hit the coop and I was very lucky to have caught it! I jumped out of bed and out to the yard and there was the possum with my one hen. I was very lucky! He will be back! I calmed them down and put them in the Large tuff Shed that I build for them for winter . It is cold enough now to put them in the house. My coop is their summer house with plenty of air and I lock it down for the night, but that possum got through the chicken wire!!! I have a lovely chicken coop that is open run in the middle with two ends have small roosting houses that they go into for the night. It is great for summer evenings. Not anymore!!!
 
I have had shell-less eggs. I provide extra calcium, free-choice, and feed back the egg shells. I think her egg track is just tired. Maybe she will do better after molting and taking a rest.
 
Last edited:

New posts New threads Active threads

Back
Top Bottom