consistently getting soft shelled eggs

[Red Bird]

I'm crashing this thread lol. I get one of these eggs almost everyday, is this a sign of problems?

if u can pick it off with out fetting to the membrane
im pretty sure its eggs of some bug

 

[NikkiCole5]

if u can pick it off with out fetting to the membrane
im pretty sure its eggs of some bug

No it doesn't rub off, only a little bit of it does

 

[debp]

I am trying to figure out a flock-wide issue with egg shell quality. I think I've posed this question before on BYCF, but didn't get any answers that really fit. I have read many of the posts on this forum and other sites and looked over the All Tech eggshell chart. I can't help but wonder if it could be a copper or zinc issue, as my birds free-range and I have had high copper and zinc in my garden soil tests. But, I don't know what high copper and zinc would do, or how I could pinpoint it for sure.

Here is some information:
This is my first flock of chickens which are just over 1 year old now. They are 13 in total, Brown Leghorns, New Hampshires and Barred Rocks.

They lay well, but egg shell quality has been declining since this winter. They came into lay last Sept.

I have never had a soft-shelled egg, but I have many rough eggs (from the Barred Rocks only), pimples, wrinkles, low pigment, and a few brownish purple spots, body checked eggs, and one slab-sided egg.

I have tried with-holding free calcium, and the problem does not go away either way.

They are on a balanced layer feed from a local mill, but I do feed up to 20% scratch (a crushed oats, corn and BOSS mix). Half their feed is fed as fermented feed. They get a small handful of mealworm and/or BOSS to get them in at night, and lettuce, cabbage, kale occasionally.

I have never seen signs of illness in the flock. They are active, have lots of space and I don't see any reason for stress (neither heat, nor cold, nor predation nor change). They are active but calm.

While, I suppose it could be the birds got infectious bronchitis with minimal symptoms or the feed is somehow out of balance, the copper/zinc issue seems more likely given my soil tests. Does anyone know if these shell problems could be caused by excess copper and/or zinc they would get free-ranging. I guess, I'm a little doubtful, only because this started when they really didn't have much to eat while free-ranging early this spring.

 

[TalkALittle]

Zinc, magnesium, copper, iron, and calcium all compete for the transporters responsible for their uptake in the intestines. What does your water test like? It could be high in these minerals.

 

[debp]

They drink mostly tapwater, which is not high in those minerals. But, the land they free range is flood irrigated from a river which can have very high copper, zinc and other heavy metals because of the leaching mines upstream. The levels in the soil are not supposed to be toxic and my garden does very well, but some of my soil tests are high in copper and zinc.

 

[littlepaw57]

I, too, have one that almost always lays very thin shelled eggs. I don't know which one. I have 6 and last fall I was getting 5-6 eggs a day. All winter I got 4-5. For the last month or more I'm only getting 2-3 eggs. I've been feeding layer feed that has omega 3 in it. Can that have an effect on this. My girls are terrible feather pickets, too. I don't think any of them are sick. They get to roam around our yard a lot. And they seem pretty happy but for the picking.