Hen keeps laying broken/soft-shelled eggs?

[77horses]

We recently adopted a new hen. She was a rescue, so we have no idea how old she is or her history. Based on her condition/behavior, my best guess is she’s anywhere between 1 1/2 and 4 years old. We did make sure to quarantine her before adding her into the flock. So far she has been very healthy, good appetite, drinking lots of water, and slowly integrating into her new flock.
I haven’t seen her lay an egg yet, because one of my older alpha hens keeps eating them before I get a chance to collect them when I get home. I think she’s doing it intentionally as a pecking order thing, to keep her place as the alpha hen maybe? Anyways, even though I haven’t seen any eggs from her yet, I know she has laid them because I’ve found the leftover shells as evidence. And she’s my only copper maran, so the only one who lays brown eggs. There have been a couple of instances where I’ve found just an egg yolk in the coop- no shell, not even a thin membrane, just a single intact yolk on the floor.
Tonight I went to put everyone to bed and noticed she was straining a bit on the roost. I got out my flashlight and looked at her vent and noticed that it had a broken egg hanging out, with some poop too. The shell was soft and rubbery. I didn’t want to try pulling it out because I didn’t want to hurt her. I’ve never had this issue with any of my hens before so wasn’t sure what to do. She seems fine otherwise, I’m assuming she’ll just pass the broken egg.
I’ve read somewhere that an egg breaking before it’s expelled can lead to infection. Is this true? If so, what can I do to prevent that?
What could be causing this? Is this common for younger hens to do when they start laying?
FYI- my flock has access to crushed oyster shells and occasionally I give them cooked scrambled eggs. But I’m not sure if she has been eating any of the oyster shells.

 

[Grace8269]

Hey! To stop the soft-shelled eggs, offer oyster shells (or other calcium supplements) always. If the hens are not eating it, maybe incorporate it in their feed. Also, look for a stuck egg in that hen. And an infection from the broken egg (specifically the yolk). Separate your hen and give her a warm bath. Then, stick your finger in, coated in vaseline, and feel around. If you feel a round mass, it's probably an egg, then you can pull it out. I have helped many sick chickens from stuck eggs. What I do is I give them antibiotics via a syringe. I dose them down for their weight and it almost always works. I feed them yogurt for the probiotics. Let her sleep in a dog crate inside and give her lots of love! Give her water and encourage her to eat a lot of food. However, before you treat for a stuck egg, confirm the diagnoses if not check for worms, coccidiosis, and other chicken illnesses. Best of luck!!!