Eggs brittle and yolks falling apart

[Mother of Chaos]

I can confirm the irregular watering, from experience.

No one ever mentions that the irregular watering often comes from the sky and is hard to control for, other than maybe planting through X’s slashed in heavy-duty black plastic laid on the soil with drip irrigation available.

Ugh, more plastic.

 

[debid]

My first thought is an illness or heavy parasitic load. Dietary deficiency simply doesn't cause an abrupt change in egg quality. Especially in young birds. And, it doesn't sound likely given the management description. We can blame feed brands and calcium supplements but I really think this is an undiagnosed illness. Hopefully one that resolves but I would consider treating with an antiparasitic if you observe and don't see any signs of illness. Looking fluffed and a little lethargic can easily be mistaken for a reaction to cold weather when really they feel poorly for some other reason.

 

[Carontheroad]

We give our grapes , tomatoes, spinach and other calcium loving plants extra calcium (without vinegar). If you add vinegar you destroy the benefit of adding calcium.

From a dutch site: https://plantena.nl/blog/waarom-sommige-planten-extra-calcium-nodig-hebben/
Calcium also plays a role in moisture regulation within the plant. It helps the plant absorb and distribute water more effectively. This is especially important during dry periods or warm temperatures. Plants with a good calcium supply can better cope with stressful conditions, such as high humidity or drought.

I’ve seen the vinegar idea on some organic garden you tuber channels. It looks like after the calcium is broken down in the vinegar then it’s diluted quite alot with water. Some spray it on the leaves, some add it directly to the soil. I have in the past just sprinkled powdered or ground eggshells on the soil, especially around tomato plants but I keep hearing that it’s not bioavailable for many years so the only benefit would be slug deterrent with crushed eggshells. Hard to know what the truth is. I also read that you can cause problems with too much calcium in the soil and testing is recommended but who tests their soil? I guess you could go by Ph. That I do check. But this post is definitely off topic. Sorry OP.

 

[kattabelly]

slug deterrent with crushed eggshells

This is an old wives' tale. Eggshells won't deter slugs and, unlike with feeding the shells back to your chickens, you do actually need to thoroughly clean eggshells before using them around plants if you don't want them to attract slugs.