End of shell very thin every time

[Kerry Ellen]

My 1.5 year old barred rock has been laying eggs with a very thin shell for a few weeks. The last week the top of the egg is consistently paper thin and cracked. She’s a heavy layer, one xl egg every day and hasn’t taken a break since she started laying. She gets purina organic layer crumble feed, and next to no treats, minus free range bugs/greens for a few hours a day. Free oyster shells always available. All other birds are laying fine? Something else I should be doing for her, or is this just an individual bird thing?

 

[nuthatched]

Just a kink in the system, it may work itself out.

 

[nuthatched]

Just a kink in the system, it may work itself out.

 

[aart]

Guessing she may be slowing production due to time of year, should molt this fall/winter, you can get some funky eggs around those times.

 

[Kerry Ellen]

Guessing she may be slowing production due to time of year, should molt this fall/winter, you can get some funky eggs around those times.

Thanks a bunch. This is reassuring.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I have many high-production laying hens, and quite a lot of those hens are ages 4 years and up. I have seen similiar eggs as yours by the end of summer/end of their annual laying cycles. The hens molt yearly each october/november and stop laying. When they resume laying each early spring, egg shell hardness is back to normal again.

My hens are free-range, and in addition they always have access to layer pellets and oyster shell. The past 2 summers i have also offered an abundance of yellow squash and zucchini squash from the garden. Their egg shells have seemed to remain harder/firmer until molt. (No noticeable egg shell thinning yet this year.) Im beginning to suspect the extra calcium in squash may be even more beneficial to high-production layer hens than oyster shell. You could offer your girl some squash or other veggies/fruit high in calcium to see if her egg shell hardness improves. I would be curious to know your results. Either way, she should enter molt soon, which will give her body a chance to rebuild its calcium stores.

 

[Kerry Ellen]

I have many high-production laying hens, and quite a lot of those hens are ages 4 years and up. I have seen similiar eggs as yours by the end of summer/end of their annual laying cycles. The hens molt yearly each october/november and stop laying. When they resume laying each early spring, egg shell hardness is back to normal again.

My hens are free-range, and in addition they always have access to layer pellets and oyster shell. The past 2 summers i have also offered an abundance of yellow squash and zucchini squash from the garden. Their egg shells have seemed to remain harder/firmer until molt. (No noticeable egg shell thinning yet this year.) Im beginning to suspect the extra calcium in squash may be even more beneficial to high-production layer hens than oyster shell. You could offer your girl some squash or other veggies/fruit high in calcium to see if her egg shell hardness improves. I would be curious to know your results. Either way, she should enter molt soon, which will give her body a chance to rebuild its calcium stores.

Interesting! Thanks for sharing your experience. Goodness knows I have enough squash to share. I’ll give it a try. Why do we plant so many each year?!?

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

Interesting! Thanks for sharing your experience. Goodness knows I have enough squash to share. I’ll give it a try. Why do we plant so many each year?!?

To feed our chickens?!

 

[NorthwoodsChick]

Guessing she may be slowing production due to time of year, should molt this fall/winter, you can get some funky eggs around those times.

Are the eggs safe to eat?

 

[aart]

Are the eggs safe to eat?

There is nothing inherently toxic about a funky egg,
if the thin shell or breached membrane is filthy with poop, then caution is required.