Can a pullet be egg bound AND pass soft shelled eggs?

[ldirk7]

My RIR, Ginny, has been a crazy consistent layer of large, beautiful eggs. She hasn't missed a single day since she started laying, and is currently just over 9 months old. Yesterday, there was a soft shelled egg in the coop (my first egg quality issue), and I found another today, directly below where she was roosting. I have 5 total chickens, 3 currently laying. One of my other layers laid yesterday, the other today, and I haven't found Ginny's egg in the nesting box so I have come to the conclusion that it is Ginny.

On diet: I feed Naturewise all flock feed, with oystershell and grit always available on the side. They get a small bowl of veggies/fruits every 1-2 days for a treat, and an occasional handfull of scratch and mealworms for some winter activity/scratching fun. I've been reading on here a bit, and I'm going to put out some yogurt with oyster shell mixed in today to encourage her to eat it, and also will put out baked eggshells for an additional calcium choice. Also going to go get the calcium supplement from the store to have on hand in case this continues.

So finally, here is my question: Today and yesterday she is still laying on the nest for a decent period of time, even though she has appeared to already pass a soft shelled egg that day. Is this just kind of instinctual/part of her chicken daily routine at this point? Is it possible for her to be egg bound (she lays really large eggs), and ALSO lay a soft shell egg? Her vent seems normal but I also am new to chickens and not super familiar with vents, and I really don't think she is acting strangely or lethargic at all.

Thank you, I apologize if this question is stupid.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Often soft shells are the cause of egg binding because there is nothing solid for the uterus muscles to push against.

 

[ldirk7]

Often soft shells are the cause of egg binding because there is nothing solid for the uterus muscles to push against.

Thank you. But if she is laying the soft shelled eggs, does that still count?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Count for what?

 

[ldirk7]

Count for what?

I mean that you said soft shell eggs can be the cause of the hen being egg bound, since there is nothing to push against. I am interpreting that to mean that the soft shell egg itself is the one that is stuck inside her. Is that correct?

In my case, the chicken is laying the soft shell eggs, but still sitting on the nest afterwards for some time, so I am curious if there could be a regular, hard shell egg stuck in there, even though she has layed the soft shell eggs.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Sometimes it is, sometimes it is a super large egg or just a young pullet not quite ready.
Sometimes it is calcium, which is necessary for muscle function.
However, regarding the soft shells, calcium is not the be all and end all. To build strong shells, a balance of phosphorus to calcium, vitamin D3 and manganese are also important. It is a complex nutritional and hormonal balance. P to Ca should be about 1:10.
Other things like heat, stress, water and disease are among the factors that can affect shell quality.

 

[theoldchick]

When a super producer starts laying soft shelled eggs on a consistent basis, I start focusing a stern eye on that hen. I do a physical exam from beak to butt. I palpate the abdomen for swelling, hard areas, I note her breathing, her stance and start from there. As a side note, when expensive parrot start to show reproductive issue problems, avian vets will remove the reproductive parts in order to save the parrot life. The surgery was perfected on chickens and many new vets learn how to spay birds by starting out on chickens. Now back to your chicken, here is a bit more information that may help you.

https://www.unusualpetvets.com.au/reproductive-disease-backyard-chickens/

 

[Fallenone05]

My RIR, Ginny, has been a crazy consistent layer of large, beautiful eggs. She hasn't missed a single day since she started laying, and is currently just over 9 months old. Yesterday, there was a soft shelled egg in the coop (my first egg quality issue), and I found another today, directly below where she was roosting. I have 5 total chickens, 3 currently laying. One of my other layers laid yesterday, the other today, and I haven't found Ginny's egg in the nesting box so I have come to the conclusion that it is Ginny.

On diet: I feed Naturewise all flock feed, with oystershell and grit always available on the side. They get a small bowl of veggies/fruits every 1-2 days for a treat, and an occasional handfull of scratch and mealworms for some winter activity/scratching fun. I've been reading on here a bit, and I'm going to put out some yogurt with oyster shell mixed in today to encourage her to eat it, and also will put out baked eggshells for an additional calcium choice. Also going to go get the calcium supplement from the store to have on hand in case this continues.

So finally, here is my question: Today and yesterday she is still laying on the nest for a decent period of time, even though she has appeared to already pass a soft shelled egg that day. Is this just kind of instinctual/part of her chicken daily routine at this point? Is it possible for her to be egg bound (she lays really large eggs), and ALSO lay a soft shell egg? Her vent seems normal but I also am new to chickens and not super familiar with vents, and I really don't think she is acting strangely or lethargic at all.

Thank you, I apologize if this question is stupid.

I've had hens pass soft shell eggs and then lay a normal egg right after, same day. Sometimes they have glitches in their egg making machine and do weird things. When she did start laying? If she's a fairly new layer, I wouldn't be surprised to see it.

If she's been laying for a few months, I'd look into her diet and see if she's just not getting enough nutrition from her food.

 

[aart]

I'm going to put out some yogurt with oyster shell mixed in today to encourage her to eat it, and also will put out baked eggshells for an additional calcium choice.

I mix the crushed chicken egg shells in with the oyster shell.
Try that instead of the yogurt.

 

[ldirk7]

@theoldchick I'm definitely keeping an eye on her, I'm worried sick. But honestly, she is acting so normal. I checked her vent yesterday to look for anything off that would indicate egg bound, I'll do a more thorough check today once it's light out. I also have cameras on my run and coop and observed her all day yesterday.