One of my year old Buff Orpingtons is having some serious issues laying eggs. I was regularly finding a soft shelled egg under the roost, but hadn't for a few weeks until a few days ago. Now today, for the 2nd time in the last 2-3 weeks, I find one of the girls standing up in the nest box and the nest is soaked with yolk. Her wings droop and she just stands in there and looks so uncomfortable. The first time, I took her out of the box and she went right to the roost for bed. I thought she was egg bound, but I didn't feel anything, so I kept an eye on her and 24 hours later she was fine. Well, tonight, same story. But this time when she got on the roost, she turned her backside to me and I could see her "pushing". I looked and saw something abnormal so I got some latex gloves on and was able to get a hold of it. I gently pulled it out and it was the shell of the egg that she had laid in the nest...it was like wet paper...all intact, but crumpled up and soft. I am still fairly new to chickens and have never experienced anything like this. I feel good that I was able to help her, but she still looks miserable with droopy wings and I'm not sure if there is something I can do to prevent this or if she just has a problem and needs to be put out of her misery. I feed my hens layer pellets and have oyster shells available. They do get treats, but nothing over the top...fresh cut grass, veggie scraps, and a small handful of scratch before bed...that's among 11 chickens, so I don't think it's anything excessive. Does anyone know what is happening or if I can help her in some way? I feel so bad for her and hate seeing her go through that. She looks so miserable and upset when this happens. I think she does lay eggs with hard shells, but they're not as hard as everyone else's and are irregular in shape and texture of the shell. They are bumpy and rippley. An thoughts? Thanks!
