7 mo. old pullet laying nothing but shell-less eggs- is this forever?

[Miz JP]

I have one Barred Rock (Queenie), one Gold Lace Wyandotte (Duffy), and one Silver Lace Wyandotte(Destiny). They are all 7 months old. The BR has been laying since she was 5 mos. old, and the Gold Wy has been laying for a month now. The Silver Wy has also been "laying" for about a month, but they are all shell-less eggs. I know they are all young birds, so I want to give poor Destiny the benefit of the doubt, and am assuming that her body is still getting used to the whole egg-laying gig. Is this something that she will outgrow, or will she always be a non-producer?

 

[Fred's Hens]

Soon enough, you'll have your answer. Many sort this out within a month. Some never have the issue. Others take up to a month to get in stride. Unfortunately, you face culling her or having to otherwise accept that she has a reproductive problem. Sorry to hear it. Give it a little more time.

 

[Chicken.Lytle]

Quote:
You have multiple hens laying shell-less eggs?

Sounds like a calcium deficiency in their diet . I have one hen who has problems with shell-less eggs whenever she gets too much unfortified food. Pellets and crumbles have calcium embedded, scratch and treats do not.

If the problem persists when they have nothing but layer feed, then you should consider culling her or separating her from the egg producers. You don't want shell-less eggs to start them down the egg-eating road or making a mess on your eggs.

 

[Miz JP]

Thank you both for replying, I appreciate it. I have only the one hen with this problem, the Silver Wy. My other two produce beautiful light brown eggs nearly every day

I do provide crushed oyster shell for them, in addition to their fortified feed. I typically only give them scratch grains in the AM, so they will eat their feed in the evening. They do, however, have full run of the yard. They spend all day foraging. Could the amount of forage that they eat be leading to a calcium deficiency? Thanks for any input

 

[Fred's Hens]

It is not a calcium deficiency. She simply isn't making a shell at this point.

I had a half dozen very young pullets who did this, but very briefly. Their shell making function took over, matured and they were off to the races. Again, you can change diet and so forth, but it isn't likely to produce a change. Feed no scratch for a week would be my prescription, but if a steady diet of layer pellets do not "kick her" in gear, nothing is going to. The foraging is a calcium builder and usually produces harder eggs, not weaker shells or absent shells.