Abnormal eggs

[RAsChickens]

So we currently have a heat wave (95-105 degree days) and since it started I've gotten 3 eggs with no solid shell. They feel like water balloons. All 3 times I found them on the floor of the coop. I checked all my hens and they are all healthy and normal. I mixed in some oyster shell with their food (Purina Layena with Omega 3) to make sure they are getting enough and they also have a dish of it in the run. Could it be the heat or something else?

 

[JedJackson]

If it's from a hen or hens that have laid normal eggs in the past I would suspect stress is the cause. Probably from the heat but it could also happen if the birds are harassed by predators, dogs, cats, children, etc. or if new birds were recently introduced into the flock. If they are hens new to laying then it is very common for the very first eggs to come without shells. It is also common in older hens nearing the end of their egg producing days.

 

[RAsChickens]

If it's from a hen or hens that have laid normal eggs in the past I would suspect stress is the cause. Probably from the heat but it could also happen if the birds are harassed by predators, dogs, cats, children, etc. or if new birds were recently introduced into the flock. If they are hens new to laying then it is very common for the very first eggs to come without shells. It is also common in older hens nearing the end of their egg producing days.

These hens starting laying about a month and a half ago. Their eggs have been small-ish, but normal. At the pool party we had in July my nieces and nephews were chasing them, but I told them to stop and demonstrated how to catch and handle them properly and they did. My dog is the only other animal they come in contact with, and she has gotten pecked so she is scared of them! We haven't had any new birds.

 

[JedJackson]

Then I suspect it's the heat. Sudden shifts in weather can do it. I live in the PNW too and except for that really hot week we had at the end of June it has been pretty mild and their bodies are probably just trying to adapt to something they are not used to. The only other possibilities I can think of are Vitamin D deficiency and too much salt in the diet, but I really think it's the weather because those two things shouldn't be a problem if you're feeding them layer rations.

 

[GC-Raptor]

I found a thin shelled egg under the roost this morning. I have also gotten some soft shells lately from my 16 month old hens. It's summer here and I have noticed they are only eating about a third of the layers pellets, compared to winter consumption. They don't seem to be consuming their oyster shell in a separate container either.
I let them out to free range two hours before sunset daily, weather permitting. They are scratching through leaves in the woodlands of my property and finding lots of bugs and worms. .
So in my opinion they may not getting enough calcium, phosphorus, manganese and/or vitamin D. One or all of them. All of these are needed for egg shell formation. So if I want to let them free range, then I will have to wait till it cools down and they need the carbohydrates in feed to keep warm, and as a result they will get enough nutrients to form strong eggshells from increased consumption of feed, and less bugs and worms in the autumn season.
This is my opinion, because this is my first summer with full grown hens.
I did get 3 normal eggs, so far today from my 5 hens. GC