Found egg without a hard shell on the ground 3 times?

[Hen-Ry]

I have 8 hens a'laying for bout 6 weeks now. They were born on Oct 23, 2018. Just over 6 months now. On three occasions,including Monday, I have found eggs in the outdoor run, in the coop run, and in the nesting box which were only encased with a skin. No hard shell. Two were burst, and one was intact. Any ideas about what causes this? Do I have an undernourished hen? Sick hen?

 

[Celticdragonfly]

From what I've read, you probably have a hen who needs more calcium. Do you have ground up oyster shell available to them? I've read about people using Tums and such to help them get more calcium quick.

 

[cavemanrich]

You may have a hen not getting enough calcium. What are you feeding them??? Do they have access to natural occurring calcium like outdoor green growing plants??? Calcium from stones and grit pebbles from limestone type soil?
Sometimes even when you are doing EVERYTHING CORRECTLY... things do happen. Some hens may not be able to process the calcium in their digestive track due to various reasons.
I feed my chickens a 2% calcium feed and offer them Cracked Oyster shells, FREE-CHOICE...
Many peeps choose to feed a Layer feed at 4% calcium. That is all fine if ALL are laying. Non layers getting higher calcium can develop kidney and liver issues. This does not happen very quickly, or immediately.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

 

[Celticdragonfly]

Found an article - could be one of many things, calcium is one of them - read #10 here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

 

[Hen-Ry]

From what I've read, you probably have a hen who needs more calcium. Do you have ground up oyster shell available to them? I've read about people using Tums and such to help them get more calcium quick.

That thought has crossed my grey matter, calcium that is.
The layer feed has the daily allotment of calcium, but mayhaps I do need to put out a bit of oyster shell. Most days I get 7-8 good eggs from the 8 hens. I wonder if one might be casting forth her egg prematurely?
I'll pick up some oyster shell today at the feed store. Thanks for your reply @Celticdragonfly !

 

[Hen-Ry]

Found an article - could be one of many things, calcium is one of them - read #10 here
https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

OMG @Celticdragonfly ! It could be one of a dozen things it says! Bird flu even!
Sound most likely it is the young layer syndrome, or calcium deficiency. Thanks for the link my friend!

 

[Hen-Ry]

You may have a hen not getting enough calcium. What are you feeding them??? Do they have access to natural occurring calcium like outdoor green growing plants??? Calcium from stones and grit pebbles from limestone type soil?
Sometimes even when you are doing EVERYTHING CORRECTLY... things do happen. Some hens may not be able to process the calcium in their digestive track due to various reasons.
I feed my chickens a 2% calcium feed and offer them Cracked Oyster shells, FREE-CHOICE...
Many peeps choose to feed a Layer feed at 4% calcium. That is all fine if ALL are laying. Non layers getting higher calcium can develop kidney and liver issues. This does not happen very quickly, or immediately.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, and

I have a bottle of tums in the cupboard. Wish I knew which one it is! Thanks!

 

[chkva]

I bake my egg shells in the oven and I crush them up. It's a way to use up every part of the egg the chickens lay. I just place all the crushed up shells in a mason jar and give them a little each day.

I had eggs like this last week and giving extra calcium worked.

Other things you can give that have calcium... Plain yogurt, cottage cheese, and plain tums

 

[nightowl223]

I bake my egg shells in the oven and I crush them up. It's a way to use up every part of the egg the chickens lay. I just place all the crushed up shells in a mason jar and give them a little each day.

I had eggs like this last week and giving extra calcium worked.

Other things you can give that have calcium... Plain yogurt, cottage cheese, and plain tums

Many people bake the eggshells beforehand, because 1) they crush into easer to absorb sized pieces, and 2) it lessens the chance of spreading e-coli or any other disease that might form in raw egg while it's laying there in the shell for who-knows how long. You wouldn't eat egg salad if it's been sitting out in room temperature for a few days, so why risk feeding the same kind of risk to your feathered ladies?

I try to bake them about 5 minutes or so, either by putting them in the oven while it's preheating, or putting them in the oven after I'm done baking and the oven is cooling off. They really are much easier to crush that way! And, as the oven is already on, why not?

 

[DobieLover]

I have 8 hens a'laying for bout 6 weeks now. They were born on Oct 23, 2018. Just over 6 months now. On three occasions,including Monday, I have found eggs in the outdoor run, in the coop run, and in the nesting box which were only encased with a skin. No hard shell. Two were burst, and one was intact. Any ideas about what causes this? Do I have an undernourished hen? Sick hen?

You do not have an undernourished hen. You don't yet even have a hen! She is considered a POL pullet. She may or may not need extra calcium. Pullets that are just coming into lay will drop a few odd balls until their reproductive systems mature.
Don't worry too much about it. Once her system works out the kinks, she should start laying beautiful eggs.
When shell-less eggs happen in an actual hen, then you have a bigger issue.