First egg, no shell??

[Willow Whispers]

I have 9 sweet black australorps that are 1.5 weeks shy of 6 months. They have all been squatting for about a week and have healthy red combs and wattles. A few days ago one of my ladies laid her first egg.... exciting right?! BUT it was without a shell and it has been 3 days since with no more eggs. My main concern would be calcium deficiency, I have them eating layer pellets and scratch grain.

What more should I do for them? Is a shelless egg somewhat common for first time layers? The egg itself was quite large so on one hand I'm greatful she didn't have to squeeze one with a shell out but on the other hand its a health concern...

 

[TooCheep]

Egg oddities are common in new layers and they generally work their way out of it. Double yolks, yolk-less eggs, shell-less eggs, irregular schedule, etc. can all happen early on. Layer feed should be fine.

I'm a little concerned about the scratch grains. How much do you feed? Scratch grains are fine for treats, but don't provide balanced nutrition. Try to keep scratch grains and any other treats to about 10% of their food.

 

[Shadrach]

Some pullets do fire out some funky eggs when they start laying. However, all those I've had have at least had some sort of shell.
First step is to dump the scratch as in zero treats for any of your hens until they've got the egg laying sorted out.
You could try a calcium boost for this hen. You can buy calcium tablets at many chemists.
For an average sized Australorp I would think an extra two grams a day might be a good starting point.

 

[CountryFlock]

I’d give them some calcium to be safe, not too much. But it’s completely normal for oddball eggs like that to be laid at that age.

I get oddballs all the time from my pullets.

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

I have a girl laying don't shell, shell less, and now partial shell less eggs. She has been laying for a good week or longer, so I supplement calcium (in applesauce). Make sure you have crushed oyster shells available 24/7 too.

 

[Willow Whispers]

Thank you all for your speedy and insightful responses! I was completely unaware of calcium tablets, I will get right on that. As far as scratch grains go, I have been mixing it into feed about 1:3 scratch to feed ratio. I didn't know it was considered a treat. Very helpful information everybody! Thank you again!

 

[Mybackyardpeepers]

Thank you all for your speedy and insightful responses! I was completely unaware of calcium tablets, I will get right on that. As far as scratch grains go, I have been mixing it into feed about 1:3 scratch to feed ratio. I didn't know it was considered a treat. Very helpful information everybody! Thank you again!

I used flavored chewable calcium tablets crushed in plain applesauce. Scratch is spread around the run when I let them out of coop for the day.

 

[Willow Whispers]

I don't actually know which pullets are laying, should I just give all of them crushed calcium tablets? Are there any adverse effects of calcium on a bird that maybe doesn't need it?

 

[Shadrach]

I don't actually know which pullets are laying, should I just give all of them crushed calcium tablets? Are there any adverse effects of calcium on a bird that maybe doesn't need it?

Yes, there are adverse effects over the long term. I would administer the supplement at the dose I've suggested for a couple of weeks and see how that goes.
Hopefully, without the scratch being mixed in with the feed they will eat more of the feed and thus the calcium and a higher amount of protein.

 

[TooCheep]

Don't mix calcium into anything at all. You don't know what dosage they need and no effort has been given above to determine how much calcium your girls have been getting.

It is best to offer calcium in a side dish. Pullets/hens know when their body is calcium deficient and they'll naturally munch on any oyster shell or other calcium supplement you offer. Any that don't need it will avoid it. You can do this lifelong with hens.

Non-layers (younger pullets, cockerels, etc) definitely shouldn't be force-fed additional calcium.