Help with soft shelled egg mystery

[Krist10]

I have gotten several soft shelled eggs this week:
2 on Tuesday- in the coop
1 on Wednesday- in the nesting box
1 on Friday- in the coop
1 today- in the coop

Im not sure who they are coming from. All hens look healthy, no respitory issues, combs look good, crops are full at night and flat in the morning. All 10 birds are just begining to lay. I have 4 Ameraucanas, 4 easter Eggers (I have positively matched 3 of them to their eggs), 1 polish, 1 batam cochin. They are on Nutrena All Flock (I also have roosters) and have oyster shell flake and crushed egg shell available at all times. They also get treats occasionally and have been getting cracked corn when its been freezing.

I know that its common for new layers to have soft shelled eggs but this seems excessive...am I wrong? I'm just concerned something else is going on. Any ideas of how to identify who it is and how to treat wold be helpful.

I have a trail cam, but its kind of a pain to use and a plug in security camera...think I'm going to try to use both to get this figured out. Thoughts??

 

[Debbie292d]

I would give it more time. Some pullets can lay funky eggs for weeks. The same thing can happen when they come out of a molt, but usually they're over that much faster.

Congrats though on first eggs! That's always so eggciting!

 

[Krist10]

I would give it more time. Some pullets can lay funky eggs for weeks. The same thing can happen when they come out of a molt, but usually they're over that much faster.

Congrats though on first eggs! That's always so eggciting!

Thank you! No soft shells today, but I did get a couple that look like they may be new layers (a little oddly shapped, color a little wonky, etc). Im hoping thats all it is...just them getting their new layer quirks out!

 

[Debbie292d]

Thank you! No soft shells today, but I did get a couple that look like they may be new layers (a little oddly shapped, color a little wonky, etc). Im hoping thats all it is...just them getting their new layer quirks out!

Yep! Pretty soon they'll all look pretty much the same. I still will get a strange one. Out of 15 hens, I'd guess it's about one a month that makes me scratch my head. Like a really oblong one, or one with calcium deposits stuck to the sides, or even a soft one, but it's only one, and they have oyster shell so I don't pay much attention.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have gotten several soft shelled eggs this week:
2 on Tuesday- in the coop
1 on Wednesday- in the nesting box
1 on Friday- in the coop
1 today- in the coop

Im not sure who they are coming from. All hens look healthy, no respitory issues, combs look good, crops are full at night and flat in the morning. All 10 birds are just begining to lay. I have 4 Ameraucanas, 4 easter Eggers (I have positively matched 3 of them to their eggs), 1 polish, 1 batam cochin. They are on Nutrena All Flock (I also have roosters) and have oyster shell flake and crushed egg shell available at all times. They also get treats occasionally and have been getting cracked corn when its been freezing.

I know that its common for new layers to have soft shelled eggs but this seems excessive...am I wrong? I'm just concerned something else is going on. Any ideas of how to identify who it is and how to treat wold be helpful.

I have a trail cam, but its kind of a pain to use and a plug in security camera...think I'm going to try to use both to get this figured out. Thoughts??

Yeah, I have a lot of thoughts.
You have 10 new layers. Since you got 2 soft shells in one day, the problem isn't a single bird.
Anomalies happen with pullets' first eggs, however soft shells isn't one of those. Normally, pullets approaching POL should be packing calcium into the medullary bone ready to be brought to the uterus for shell formation. Actually, properly fed, pullet eggs tend to be harder than those of older hens'.
Are the shells thin and brittle or soft like a water balloon? In either case, it needs to be resolved because there is a glitch in the
I understand you give an All Flock feed supplemented with crushed oyster shell. Where is the oyster shell placed for their access?
I know All Flock is about 1% calcium, more or less.
If they continue laying without getting sufficient calcium it can develop into rickets as more calcium is pulled from bone.
It may be worthwhile to gamble for a bit with the rooster by providing a couple weeks of layer feed to the flock.
Until the pullets get into the habit of consuming oyster shell, there is another method you can try. Make a feeder that only the hens can get their heads into. Then hang a feeder only the rooster can reach. Put the all flock or even a lower protein feed in there for him. Ideal calcium for a rooster is 1% and protein about 14-15%.