Have your chickens ever laid soft eggs?

[BYC Project Manager]

Finding a soft egg in the nest box can be pretty surprising, especially if your hens have been laying normally.

Soft-shelled eggs can happen for a few reasons, from diet changes and calcium intake to stress, age, or even just a one-off “glitch” in the laying cycle. Some keepers panic the first time they see it, while others say it’s fairly common and nothing to worry about unless it keeps happening.

So let’s talk about it: Have your chickens ever laid soft eggs?
Was it a one-time thing, or did you have to step in and fix something?

Share what worked for you. Did you adjust feed, add calcium, or wait it out? Your experience could really help someone else figure out what’s going on in their coop!

You may also like this article on the topic: Chicken Laying Soft Eggs

 

[Debbie292d]

Yesterday! New layer. They have a dish of oyster shell, but that's just what they do sometimes when they start out laying.



Sorry for the dirty bucket but that's our "garbage" out in the breeding pens. That top one didn't look so yellow yesterday, but it has no shell. The one below was today and has a paper thin shell. She or they sat or walked on it. She laid both of these on the ground, which is also typical of new layers to not know where to lay them.

I expect by tomorrow, or the next day, she'll be laying normal eggs in the nest.

It's the little cuckoo hen, upper right. Those other hens appear to be gossiping about her.

 

[Tired old Rooster]

Thank goodness no! Lead hen has started laying eggs that have shells as fragile as the store bought eggs from layer farms. Might be her age. The other three hens lay eggs, ranging from hard to really hard.