Chicken keeps laying empty shells

[Firsttimehens1234]

I have a chicken that is a little over a year old, she is a mix between and isa brown and araucana so she has been laying eggs everyday since august 2022 so I knew a break would come. I also know that those breeds that are made to just lay eggs always are more prone to a reproductive disorder but she is acting like normal
About 3 weeks ago she started eating her eggs and afterwards stopped laying.
I have been giving her calsium pills but it hasn’t helped and she keeps laying soft almost membrane shells without eggs in it just the shell or just a egg without a shell
Why is she doing this? Or what is happening?

 

[Cryss]

My understanding is that calcium citrate works better than calcium carbonate so check your bottles label. You didn’t mention what she eats so I’ll make some guesstimates. Make sure she has oyster shell available 24/7. I have a feeder inside my coop that I keep filled with just oyster shell. (No feed is ever allowed inside the coop.) I’m wondering if your hen is eating eggs because she’s looking for more protein. Check protein levels on the label of whatever it is you feed her. One other thought…are you sure it is her that is eating the eggs? Like, did you see her doing it or find her beak covered in yolk? If not consider maybe a predetor could be eating them, a snake, a rat, some critter small enough to not try to attack the hen but able to enjoy her eggs. A predator could also be the reason for her not laying eggs. Stress can cause it. I have a hen that stopped laying due to experiencing severe bullying. Got rid of the bully. 22 months later she started again and still is going strong.
These are just some suggestions without knowing feeding routines and environment. There can certainly be many other reasons for her problems. I hope you can find the answers.

 

[Firsttimehens1234]

My understanding is that calcium citrate works better than calcium carbonate so check your bottles label. You didn’t mention what she eats so I’ll make some guesstimates. Make sure she has oyster shell available 24/7. I have a feeder inside my coop that I keep filled with just oyster shell. (No feed is ever allowed inside the coop.) I’m wondering if your hen is eating eggs because she’s looking for more protein. Check protein levels on the label of whatever it is you feed her. One other thought…are you sure it is her that is eating the eggs? Like, did you see her doing it or find her beak covered in yolk? If not consider maybe a predetor could be eating them, a snake, a rat, some critter small enough to not try to attack the hen but able to enjoy her eggs. A predator could also be the reason for her not laying eggs. Stress can cause it. I have a hen that stopped laying due to experiencing severe bullying. Got rid of the bully. 22 months later she started again and still is going strong.
These are just some suggestions without knowing feeding routines and environment. There can certainly be many other reasons for her problems. I hope you can find the answers.

Thank you for your answer she is getting layer feed that is 17% protein
She has shells available at all times, i catched her eating the egg so I know it’s her,she started eating eggs because one of my other hens cracked it by landing on it And that started something in her. I don’t think she is stressed and she is acting normal and eating like herself
Her pill is calsium carbonate but it has helped one of my other hens that was prone to eggbounding

 

[Cryss]

Thank you for your answer she is getting layer feed that is 17% protein
She has shells available at all times, i catched her eating the egg so I know it’s her,she started eating eggs because one of my other hens cracked it by landing on it And that started something in her. I don’t think she is stressed and she is acting normal and eating like herself
Her pill is calsium carbonate but it has helped one of my other hens that was prone to eggbounding

Oh, she’s an egg eater! Now that’s a problem. There are things that people do to stop that. I’ve never experienced that. The only times my chickens eat an egg is if one gets broken like if I’m clumsy, lol, or if one of them lays an egg without a shell, but I’ve never had one that ate eggs that weren’t already damaged. I hear they put mustard inside a blown out empty shell to try to discourage her from doing it again once she tastes the nasty mustard. I’m sure there are other things that can be done too but I just can’t think of any others at the moment, well, other than the ultimate way to stop them from eating eggs. They invite them to freezer camp. From what I’ve read, they do this because the egg eater will teach the rest of the flock how good egg eating is. I wish you the best.