Hen laying eggs with no shell

[The Chicken Whisperer]

So for the last few days, when we let the chickens out in the mornings we have found an egg without a shell. It looks like someone cracked an egg open, just like they were going to fry an egg on the ground. It looked like it fell from the perch, like the chicken layed it at night. There isn’t even a membrane where a shell should be - just egg white and yolk. This evening we saw my little Easter Egger, Cinnamon lay an shell-less egg while on her perch. Is she alright? I can’t get pictures because when the hens notice it they jump down and eat it. They have oyster shell to eat, and the shells are usually quite thick. Is Cinnamon sick? What can we do to help her?

 

[slordaz]

What are they being fed, including treats?
Age of flock?
how much room do they have?
Location would be helpful, are they starting to or coming off molt?
Any signs of illness?
Has flock been dewormed?
Pictures of coop and birds involved would be of great help.

Sometimes to many treats cause an imbalance, things other than feed and water should not be more than 10% of their feed in a day. if they don't have balanced feed they cannot use the calcium, so my recommendation is just feed and water and the OS and see if that clears it up, you can also give them Calcium Citrate but not sure i remember how much so tagging @azygous for dosage help there

@Wyorp Rock
@oldhenlikesdogs
might know of more things that could be causing it and how to help

 

[The Chicken Whisperer]

They are being fed mostly your average layer crumble, but we do give them treats. We give them things from the kitchen like leftover salad greens and things like that, but not a huge amount of them. Age of the flock is mixed, the oldest being Feather, who is seven years old and is a mama right now, and the youngest being her chicks who are about five weeks old and part of the flock. The hens have insisted on going broody almost every year, and since we have a rooster they hatch chicks, so there’s a one or two chickens per year between five years and about a year old. They have a lot of room, since they free-range in our large yard. We live in Central California, and our rooster Maize is beginning to molt, so I guess they're about to molt. No signs of illness except that that hen has had a spot on her back that doesn’t grow feathers. There’s no wound or sore, just a bald spot on her back that won’t grow feathers. The rooster doesn't seem to be giving her extra attention, though. The flock has been dewormed, but not too recently. Thank you so much for responding, and sorry for such a long message! I’ll get photos in the morning, since it’s dark here and the hens are asleep.

 

[slordaz]

They are being fed mostly your average layer crumble, but we do give them treats. We give them things from the kitchen like leftover salad greens and things like that, but not a huge amount of them. Age of the flock is mixed, the oldest being Feather, who is seven years old and is a mama right now, and the youngest being her chicks who are about five weeks old and part of the flock. The hens have insisted on going broody almost every year, and since we have a rooster they hatch chicks, so there’s a one or two chickens per year between five years and about a year old. They have a lot of room, since they free-range in our large yard. We live in Central California, and our rooster Maize is beginning to molt, so I guess they're about to molt. No signs of illness except that that hen has had a spot on her back that doesn’t grow feathers. There’s no wound or sore, just a bald spot on her back that won’t grow feathers. The rooster doesn't seem to be giving her extra attention, though. The flock has been dewormed, but not too recently. Thank you so much for responding, and sorry for such a long message! I’ll get photos in the morning, since it’s dark here and the hens are asleep.

sometimes if they are pulled out they don't grow back until they molt so probably coming up on a molt if your rooster is too. whether it's a soft or hard molt doesn't mater you can see things like this a week or so before molt and when they are just coming back from a molt too

 

[pennyJo1960]

do you offer oyster free feed to the hens? Please

 

[azygous]

How old is Cinnamon? New layer or veteran? Some hens don't absorb the calcium very well from oyster shell. It's calcium carbonate, and it can be a bit harder for some hens to assimilate. Also, if the oyster shell particles are reduced to mostly powder, they get flushed through the hen's system too quickly to be absorbed. Periodically topping off the supply with fresh is a good practice.

I use calcium citrate because it's the easiest of all the forms of calcium to absorb. Around 400 to 600mg. Getting the kind with vitamin D 3 added will help even more. Give one tablet each day until the eggs are normal, then you can quit.

The feather loss on the back is something I've dealt with, and it's sometimes because there's something lacking in the hen's nutritional makeup. I've had hens with bald backs go as long as two years without regrowing the feathers. I've had to resort to putting sunscreen on them. Sometimes feeding high grade animal protein such as liver or mackerel can help.

 

[The Chicken Whisperer]

Yes, we give the chickens oyster shell and laying crumbles with added calcium. Thanks for the info about the bare spot on Cinnamons back.

 

[The Chicken Whisperer]

Cinnamon is about 11 months old. She’s not too new of a layer; she and her sisters have been giving us lovely turquoise eggs for a few months. We give the chickens fresh oyster shell whenever it gets low or pulverized. I will look into the calcium citrate and the options to help her feathers grow back. Thank you!

 

[slordaz]

Cinnamon is about 11 months old. She’s not too new of a layer; she and her sisters have been giving us lovely turquoise eggs for a few months. We give the chickens fresh oyster shell whenever it gets low or pulverized. I will look into the calcium citrate and the options to help her feathers grow back. Thank you!

I give my chickens a boost about every 6 months of D poli vi sol and B complex from the health section of walmart, seems to have really helped them especially after a hard molt

 

[The Chicken Whisperer]

Thanks for the advise.