Chicken lays paper thin egg shell

[lavenderlunaginny]

Hi
My chickens are now between 1 and 4 recently my 4 year old girly layed a egg that had a paper thin shell so thin it was difficult to pick up without cracking it wondering why this was any suggestions ???
Thanks

 

[nchls school]

Possibly more calcium. Sometimes it just happens despite what their diet is. The next eggs may be normal.

 

[staceyj]

Do they eat layer feed?
Do you have oyster shell available to them? Or crushed baked egg shells?

Sometimes a human calcium supplement for several days in a row can help. (Such as 4 or so).
Such as caltrate.
Or tums even.
Crush up a tums and mix it with a little yogurt.
Mine actually love tums just broken into bits and will gobble them down.
They think it’s a treat.

Her age though, might be signaling the beginning of the end of her laying or a reproductive problem brewing on the horizon so I’d try to keep an eye on her.

 

[Eggcessive]

There sometimes can be problems with the shell gland part of the oviduct, that no matter how much calcium they get, they can still lay a thin shelled or rubber egg. It is worth trying to give her the extra calcium with vitamin D boost as @staceyj recommended. Past infectious bronchitis in the flock may also cause shell problems. Here is an interesting article about egg shell defects and possible causes:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/l...eggs-and-your-small-flock-of-laying-hens.html

 

[lavenderlunaginny]

Do they eat layer feed?
Do you have oyster shell available to them? Or crushed baked egg shells?

Sometimes a human calcium supplement for several days in a row can help. (Such as 4 or so).
Such as caltrate.
Or tums even.
Crush up a tums and mix it with a little yogurt.
Mine actually love tums just broken into bits and will gobble them down.
They think it’s a treat.

Her age though, might be signaling the beginning of the end of her laying or a reproductive problem brewing on the horizon so I’d try to keep an eye on her.

Ok thanks this egg happened a couple of days ago and she hasn't layed since.could this mean her egg laying days are over .could she be ill??

 

[lavenderlunaginny]

Ok thanks this egg happened a couple of days ago and she hasn't layed since.could this mean her egg laying days are over .could she be ill??

And yes they do eat layer feed

 

[Eggcessive]

It might be that she is at the end of her egg laying, but she also may be calcium deficient or taking a break. I have an 8 year old who began laying again at the first of the month, and a 7 year old who laid a few eggs. They have both again stopped due to severe cold weather. I have a few that stopped laying at 2, 3,or 4. I had one young hen who got injured and always laid a thin shelled or shell-less egg from then on. Shell gland problems and infectious bronchitis virus are other causes of thin or shell-less eggs.

 

[dawg53]

It sounds like a vitamin D3 deficiency.

 

[lavenderlunaginny]

Hi
I'm quite worried about her she seems confused now and there is STILL no eggs since then .

 

[Miss Lydia]

Have you been giving her extra calcium?