Continuous soft shell eggs

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

I’m at a loss. Our brahma bantam has been having soft shell eggs for the past couple of months. I switched feed, supplement with fresh oyster shells and baked eggshells on the side. She had one day where we were concerned she was eggbound, totally despondent, and after several hours of this behavior she laid a soft shell. I gave her a calcium citrate supplement for a few days and she’s since had one hard shell. Yesterday I found a soft shell, and just now I went out to the coop and saw her laying another soft shell.

She’s otherwise incredibly healthy. What are next steps from here?

 

[FeatherTay]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/
Check #15 on this list.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/
Check #15 on this list.

I have. I don’t know which it could possibly be. She laid hard shell eggs for about 6 months before this. She’s not stressed, has enough space, and is relatively high in the pecking order. No sign of disease, parasites. She’s not molting. The rest of the flock is totally normal. At a loss for what it could be.

 

[FeatherTay]

How is her poop?

 

[FeatherTay]

@DobieLover
Do you think you can help her out?

 

[DobieLover]

I’m at a loss. Our brahma bantam has been having soft shell eggs for the past couple of months. I switched feed, supplement with fresh oyster shells and baked eggshells on the side. She had one day where we were concerned she was eggbound, totally despondent, and after several hours of this behavior she laid a soft shell. I gave her a calcium citrate supplement for a few days and she’s since had one hard shell. Yesterday I found a soft shell, and just now I went out to the coop and saw her laying another soft shell.

She’s otherwise incredibly healthy. What are next steps from here?

What feed do you have the flock on?
Do you have multiple containers of OS? Where are they located?
How easily does this hen take the tablet? If she just eats it out of your hand, I would continue to feed her a tablet a day until she lays another normal egg then keep giving her 1/2 a tablet a day for a while.
Have you seen her eat the OS?
Sometimes, I do what I call a calcium infusion with my girls. I currently have one that is laying softies. I mix a handful of OS with a gob of Greek yogurt and spread little piles all over the pen on flat rocks for the flock to eat. I'll do this every other day for a week. After a week I put a blob of Greek yogurt mixed with OS on top of the dry OS in the dispensers to encourage the flock to check the OS out every day. I have one container hanging next to a feed trough and another secured to the post next to the door between the run and the pen so it's in their faces every time they come and go.
Your hen may have difficulty processing the OS and isn't getting enough calcium to form the shell.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

How is her poop?

Consistently normal!

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

What feed do you have the flock on?
Do you have multiple containers of OS? Where are they located?
How easily does this hen take the tablet? If she just eats it out of your hand, I would continue to feed her a tablet a day until she lays another normal egg then keep giving her 1/2 a tablet a day for a while.
Have you seen her eat the OS?
Sometimes, I do what I call a calcium infusion with my girls. I currently have one that is laying softies. I mix a handful of OS with a gob of Greek yogurt and spread little piles all over the pen on flat rocks for the flock to eat. I'll do this every other day for a week. After a week I put a blob of Greek yogurt mixed with OS on top of the dry OS in the dispensers to encourage the flock to check the OS out every day. I have one container hanging next to a feed trough and another secured to the post next to the door between the run and the pen so it's in their faces every time they come and go.
Your hen may have difficulty processing the OS and isn't getting enough calcium to form the shell.

I have them on Payback. I previously had them on Scratch n Peck but thought she may have been picking pieces out and not getting full nutrition. I just have one container of OS but can try putting more out! Typically will have one OS and one of baked eggshells. I’ve been giving her a crushed tablet in a little bit of yogurt.

Thanks so much for your time and advice! Is it common fo them to just not be eating OS and not getting adequate nutrition as a result? Seems so bizarre to me!

 

[Kiki]

I’m at a loss. Our brahma bantam has been having soft shell eggs for the past couple of months. I switched feed, supplement with fresh oyster shells and baked eggshells on the side. She had one day where we were concerned she was eggbound, totally despondent, and after several hours of this behavior she laid a soft shell. I gave her a calcium citrate supplement for a few days and she’s since had one hard shell. Yesterday I found a soft shell, and just now I went out to the coop and saw her laying another soft shell.

She’s otherwise incredibly healthy. What are next steps from here?

If she laid a hard shell egg after you supplemented with calcium for a couple of days it sounds like she's not getting enough calcium on the regular.

 

[charlotte-and-the-bees]

If she laid a hard shell egg after you supplemented with calcium for a couple of days it sounds like she's not getting enough calcium on the regular.

She only laid the one hard, then soft thereafter even with continued supplement.