Eggs without shells during molting?

[clickncluck]

I am a new chicken owner. My 2 girls are speckled sussex and have been laying about a year now. I feed them omega 3 layer feed. They also have constant access to grit with oyster shell calcium which they eat. And they are out in the yard eating bugs, grass and taking dirt baths a couple of times a day. Sunday I noticed just yolk on the poop board under their roost. It was a hot day and since they have never slept on the roost they get poopy chests, so I gave them a little bath. I noticed then that they both didn't have any feathers on their chest or around their vent. I hadn't really seen a lot of feathers in their coop (and I clean it daily).
So I thought they must be molting??? The egg production was about half what it had been. This morning when I went out to clean their coop their was a broken egg with just a membrane in amongst their poop where they'd slept. Is this a cause for concern? What should I do? Oh and I had also gotten a normal egg (just one) on Thursday, Friday, Sunday and yesterday.
Thanks for your help.

 

[clickncluck]

Doesn't anyone have an idea about what is happening?
Please, please...what should I do?

 

[Nickichicki]

Sorry, I have no clue! Good luck!!

 

[Kittyf]

Well it's hot here, and during a molt you're lucky to get any eggs at all, even soft or shelless. It sounds like you're doing everything right - my 2 SS are off their lay now and one apppears to be molting as well.

 

[Den in Penn]

Molting can cause misfires in the egg production if they are laying at all. Check for lost wing and tail feathers to see if they are molting. If they have those feathers look closer for lice and mites. those could be the cause of your hens problems. I'd try a different perch, maybe wider, to get them off poop board.

 

[chickenlovex3]

buy oyster shells to put in your regular chicken food. the oyster shells will give her some extra calcium. you can buy it wherever you buy your chicken supplies. i had this problem about a month ago and now my hen is fine. also make sure she has plenty of food and water

 

[ejctm]

We had the same issue recently. Adding oyster shell did not make any difference. During our recent moult, I scrambled a load of old eggs we had WITH their shells crushed in and fed this to the hens. It gave them extra protein and calcium when their bodies were being depleted by growing new feathers and now they are laying shelled eggs again.

 

[clickncluck]

thanks all for your input. you don't know how much i appreciate it as a newbie.