Hen laid a soft shell egg today...

[Cindosha]

Hens will be a year old in May and have been laying perfectly fine eggs until today when my husband sent me a picture of an egg laid in the roost poop tray that had a soft shell. All of our chickens have been laying normal eggs with no problems, We did notice that our Barred Rock had a clump of poop stuck on her butt feathers yesterday but it was not covering her access door, for lack of a better word, LOL!! We are not sure if she is the one that laid the soft shelled egg but figured that maybe because of the poop stuck there that it was her. We are going to soak her bottom in the sink when I get home from work because I think it will take two of us to hold her.

Is this a problem or a reason to lay a soft shell? If it is another one of our hens, we don't know which one it would be because they all have been laying like champs all winter long and we get 5-7 eggs a day from our flock of 9. They eat bagged layer feed and I throw crushed eggshells in their food a few times a month. We do feed treats daily (dried BSF, about 2 handfuls a day for the 9 of them and a handful of scratch grains a day).

Anyone had this problem or have any suggestions for us?

 

[PippinTheChicken]

Not unusual. Don't worry too much.
Feed them some eggshells or something they can get calcium from

 

[HennyTerri83]

i had this issue recently with one of my GLW. she’s about the same age as yours. regular eggs, never an issue, soft shell 2x then...NO SHELL! talk about reaching into the nesting box and feeling something WRONG! haha my girls are on great quality organic layer feed, always have oyster shell available, and i frequently chuck a handful of cooked egg shell in the run as well, so there was seemingly no reason. After losing sleep over it, it rectified itself in a few days. Weird, and threw me off, but food was on the mark and she was acting fine. Hopefully yours rights itself soon!

 

[Cindosha]

I ended up finding out that it was most likely because it was the hen's first egg she laid. They have been laying for months now and I never had another one lay a shell-less egg!! I mix their crushed shells in with their food sometimes too!! Thanks for your reply!!

i had this issue recently with one of my GLW. she’s about the same age as yours. regular eggs, never an issue, soft shell 2x then...NO SHELL! talk about reaching into the nesting box and feeling something WRONG! haha my girls are on great quality organic layer feed, always have oyster shell available, and i frequently chuck a handful of cooked egg shell in the run as well, so there was seemingly no reason. After losing sleep over it, it rectified itself in a few days. Weird, and threw me off, but food was on the mark and she was acting fine. Hopefully yours rights itself soon!

ng

 

[cate1124]

Even when you supply a balanced ration and calcium/oyster shell -- free-choice, continually -- this occasionally happens, more with some hens than others. Stress can sometimes cause a soft-shell, including abrupt weather changes or extremes. As long as it's occasional, it's no cause for concern.

 

[HennyTerri83]

while we are on the subject, can i flip it? one of my semi-new layers (laying maybe 3 months?) started great! now she’s consistent with these eggs - i know it’s calcium but she’s getting the same as everyone else. some days are worse than others. here’s one from today (left) and what she typically lays (right)

is there anything i can do?

edited to say the more valium on them, the more they are like ceramic. or glass! not a fan of these eggs. they’re unsightly and can’t be given away, but they’re also unreliable.

 

[cate1124]

I'd think you could sell eggs with valium on them at a premium. Seriously, though, this may just be a peccadillo (peckadillo?) of hers; perhaps it will change over time. Assuming the egg itself (not the shell) is normal, can't you just eat them?

 

[HennyTerri83]

I'd think you could sell eggs with valium on them at a premium. Seriously, though, this may just be a peccadillo (peckadillo?) of hers; perhaps it will change over time. Assuming the egg itself (not the shell) is normal, can't you just eat them?

i mean, yes, but sometimes the chunks of calcium come off and it literally breaks the shell open. they’re very glass-like. a completely different shell than my typical laying girls are giving me. just weird, and wish she’d go back to the way she started

 

[cate1124]

Some of the real chicken experts here might have some ideas, but it may just be some weirdness particular to her -- and possibly something that she will outgrow, given that she began laying normally. As long as it's not a symptom of something more serious brewing, you might have to learn to accept the textured glass look. I guess you could try a different brand of calcium/oyster shell, or a different feed, but if you have not changed either of those from when she was laying normal-looking eggs, that's unlikely to be the answer.