Frequent shell-less eggs being laid

[MarieNC]

I have 6 hens, about a year and a half old. One (Delia) was recently in the hospital b/c a soft shelled egg collapsed in her. She did expell it but it was infected and she was on antibiotics for 10 days. The past 4-5 days I have seen eggs without shells on the poop boards. I can't say for sure it's Delia b/c I saw her in the nest box today. I give the girls free choice oyster shells and they get yogurt fairly frequently. Anything else I can do for them to help with the soft egg situation? BTW hope everyone has a Happy New Year!

 

[Arielle]

Sorry to hear about Delia's problems. I'm still new to chickens but have a few ideas worth mentioning that you can research further.

I put crushed eggs shell into the feed pan along with the layer pellets and find they tend to eat more shells that way than a separate pan.

Apple cider vinegar-- I don't use the kind with the " mother" but you may find this useful. As I understand it, vinegar supports calcium absorption. Many threads on this worth reading and see what you think.

Have you changed feed ? Do chickens need vitamin D3 to absorb calcuim like humans? Sorry I don't have the answer to this question.

Edited to ad this. Just found this:
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...ndbook/16/thinshelled-eggs-and-shellless-eggs

GL