Help, my hen keeps dropping soft shell eggs while roosting

[backyardwitches]

Hi,
one of my 4 ladies keeps having an "ups moments" at night. She drops a soft shell egg from the roost at least 2-3 times a week. I am pretty sure it's not a calcium problem because almost every other day she lays a normal hard shell egg in the nesting box, often double yokes too. She is new hen, she's been laying eggs since end of July but the problem just started recently, about 2-3 weeks ago and it seems to be getting worst. We are giving them ouster shells, their crushed egg shells as well as drops.
The hen in question is a White Leghorn if that makes any difference.
Please help!

 

[Kelsie2290]

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...ndbook/16/thinshelled-eggs-and-shellless-eggs
is The Poultry Sites page for shelless eggs.
Shelless eggs are pretty common with new layers getting started and usually straightens itself out after a few weeks or months. With yours, if she is laying normal eggs, double eggs and shelless eggs, it sounds like she is having more problems than usual in getting the egg laying system straightened out.

 

[Stonebridge-CA]

My White leghorn is also having issues laying eggs. She either lays them with a soft shell or shelless. Mine have been laying for a month now and she is starting to act funny. One of my other hens who is a Pymouth barred rock eats any already cracked eggs. I do have to say out off my 15 chickens my rooster is the best behaved and the quietest! He is a pure bred White Leghorn. He has found that the best thing to do all day is find a fresh gopher hole and wait for movement. Its truly amazing how many moles and gophers he has already killed on his own. Besides my rooster my drake is also truly amazingly calm and quiet with his 3 ladies. My drake's favorite pass time is keeping the horses away from the bath tub(the water trough). The best part about having the boys is that anytime a chicken hawk or cat like animal is nearby they run around and try to wrangle the girls to a safe place under the fig trees or the truck that can't move.Everyone has access to oyster shells 24-7. I have to mix into the regular feed otherwise they will not eat it.

 

[backyardwitches]

Thanks for the link! I hope she outgrows it and it's not something permanent. I started keeping record 2 weeks ago and it looks like she has 8 large, strong shell eggs (at least one of which was double yoke), 6 soft shells and 1 hard shell that was also dropped from the roost and broke on landing. So every single day for the period I've kept track, she has made an egg. Is that normal? maybe she is working too hard?

 

[Kelsie2290]

These white leghorns are bred to lay eggs, lots, so her laying that many in a row is not that unusual. But, ya, you're right, laying that many eggs it gives her that many more chances to have off eggs and she seems to be laying about 50% odd ones. If everything else is OK, diet/water, roosting quietly etc, hopefully, since her good eggs are normal, she will just straighten out. I don't know that it would do any good to try to stop/slow down her laying by limiting light (usually doesn't affect pullets anyhow) or doing something with the diet at this point.

 

[backyardwitches]

Thank you so much!
No egg today, so that's a good news. And yesterday she had a regular one.
You mentioned the light, could the street light be affecting her, it seems quite bright now that I think of it. I will cover their window first thing tomorrow.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

.... I started keeping record 2 weeks ago and it looks like she has 8 large, strong shell eggs (at least one of which was double yoke), 6 soft shells and 1 hard shell that was also dropped from the roost and broke on landing. So every single day for the period I've kept track, she has made an egg. Is that normal?

A white leghorn should lay at least 300 or more eggs per year so it looks like she is holding up her end of your bargain with her, LOL but just barely. Really she is doing fine if she just learners to lay in the nest and stops this soft shell nonsense.

Do be advised that sometimes (usually in older hens) that soft shell eggs are the result of past infections.

 

[auntmaryshere]

Wow my 2 leghorns are doing the same ... while roosting last night 2 eggs no shells and splatted in their coop just underneath their bar. This is the 2nd time in 3 days this has happened. No real eggs yet they are 5 month's old.

 

[backyardwitches]

I really hope your hens are just young and they will figure it out eventually.

My Maggie, went from producing too many to none.. She will lay an excuse of an egg once a month, if that, and they are getting smaller and smaller.. no yoke, just a bit of egg white.. She also crows like a rooster and is acting as one. I am worried about her, she obviously has some hormonal issues, but she doesn't look sick nor she act sick.. she often chases and pecks her sister.. not sure what to do with her

 

[Janice Fields]

My older white legwork hen has been laying thin shelled eggs for months. She did have infection after egg broke inside her that was treated with antibiotics about 3 months ago. I don't know if shorter days has anything to do with it, but past couple weeks she has been laying thin shelled roost eggs almost every night. (Early morning). She looks very healthy, active, eats well, bright red comb. They have good quality laying pellets, oyster shells, and ground egg shells. They free range daily during sunniest part of day. I have decided that may just be part of older hen. So I resorted to putting a pail directly under roost pole where she roosts because I don't want other hens eating her egg. It works fine. Egg goes into pail. Because it sits on poop board and wedged under roost pole so it can't be turned over. I toss contents into compost pile each morning. Culling her will never be considered unless I thought she was suffering.