5 hens, one with uber soft shells

[SurprisingWoman]

So, I have five girls. They get free feed 16% layer feed with free range oyster shell. They free range over half an acre. They have trained my husband and I to feed the string cheese every day at 4:00. They get limited table scraps (because they are such spoiled monsters they won't eat much) and they have watering stations all over the yard.

In short, these are the most adorable, spoiled, totally indulged chickens you can imagine.

One of my EE's lays eggs that are so soft shelled that they might be totally crushed in the nesting box or they might just have super pale, very weak spots in the shell.

All of the chickens have the same diet and all the other girls have AMAZING eggs with super hard shells. I tried the ACV (with mother) in the water but the other girls didn't like it and with waters all over the yard there is no way to determine how much they are ingesting of the ACV.

I am scared to death that my baby is going to have an internal broken shell or some other laying problem some day. What can I do?

(BTW, I had a broody a while ago, she got broody again this week. I was able to break her in two days!... with no cold water.

)

Any ideas on my shell issues with my girl?

 

[Ridgerunner]

This site gives several possible causes. It sounds like you are doing everything very well. Since it is only one hen out of 5, it is almost certainly to do with the individual hen and not something you're doing wrong. My guess is that either she is just starting to lay and her shell gland has not matured yet. If so, she should straighten out within two weeks. Or it is genetic. She just does not process calcium the way she should.

Soft shelled Eggs
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...ndbook/16/thinshelled-eggs-and-shellless-eggs

Good luck!

 

[SurprisingWoman]

Thanks for that link.

She has been laying for almost a year and it has been going on the whole time. I guess she just has a bad gene. We don't have a rooster so I don't have to worry about her passing along her bad genes so I will just keep my fingers crossed that she continues to do well.

Thanks again.