Hen laying soft egg every time she lays

[Cluck2013]

I have a 4 yr old comet that lays a soft egg every time she lays. Either another hen or her sits and splat goes the egg, making a mess. I have 3 comets, so I'm not sure which one it is. They free range all day, get oyster shells in their high protein feed and on the ground, plus they are all healthy. She is the only one out of 19 hens. Been laying like this for about a month now. Her eggs have become very large (at least 6 months now) with an occasional double yolker. Out of the 3 comets, one is a def favorite of the maran rooster (bare back), the 2nd is kind of with some missing feathers (not that bad), and the 3rd is completely fine. She is also one of the top hens of the flock and not being picked on. Any ideas?

 

[danceswithronin]

Since she has plenty of access to vitamin D and calcium, I would probably take her to a livestock vet to rule out reproductive disease. But I've also read as hens get older their shells get thinner and thinner. Maybe since hers are so large she just can't encase them properly anymore. She might just be at the end of her productive laying cycle.

I read on an old thread here that somebody fixed their soft layer with this combination of supplements (via ChicKat):

1. egg shells in the food processor pulverized to a powder
2. a raw egg
3. vitamin D3 tablet (they are pretty tiny) crushed up to a powder
4. some good quality layer feed with calcium

So that might be worth a shot.

 

[Ninjasquirrel]

I have a 4 yr old comet that lays a soft egg every time she lays. Either another hen or her sits and splat goes the egg, making a mess. I have 3 comets, so I'm not sure which one it is. They free range all day, get oyster shells in their high protein feed and on the ground, plus they are all healthy. She is the only one out of 19 hens. Been laying like this for about a month now. Her eggs have become very large (at least 6 months now) with an occasional double yolker. Out of the 3 comets, one is a def favorite of the maran rooster (bare back), the 2nd is kind of with some missing feathers (not that bad), and the 3rd is completely fine. She is also one of the top hens of the flock and not being picked on. Any ideas?

You say that you're not sure which one it is but then say shes been laying like this for a month now. I would seperate each one for a day and see what they lay. When you find the soft sheller keep her another day and see if the next day is soft. Feel around her abdomen and check for any swelling. If you're not providing oyster shell...start. Hope this helps. I have 8 comets myself. Love em.

 

[aart]

You say that you're not sure which one it is but then say shes been laying like this for a month now. I would seperate each one for a day and see what they lay. When you find the soft sheller keep her another day and see if the next day is soft. Feel around her abdomen and check for any swelling.

This^^^