Hen laying soft shelled eggs

[porchdawg71]

My chickens are 15 months old and have been laying since they were 16 weeks old. They lay normal eggs nearly everyday. Until now. They go a few days without laying anything and then lay a soft shell egg. 1 has died, I suspect from something related to the soft shelled egg laying. Now the others are starting to lay soft shelled eggs. They get plenty of food and water and have a dispenser full of oyster shells for them to get as they need. What can cause a perfectly healthy hen who has no trouble at all, to one that is now laying soft shelled eggs and is most likely close to death. Any advice or ideas would be greatly appreicated.

 

[Tookie]

What type of feed are they eating? How many treats do you give or stuff besides their feed?
Try giving them all calcium citrate +D3 tablets. One tablet once a day for each until the eggs are back to normal.

 

[Eggcessive]

What breed are your hens? Do they get a layer type feed or other balanced chicken feed? Do they get a lot of extras, such as scratch grains, treats or table scraps? If you can identify anyone laying soft shelled eggs, I would give them human calcium citrate tablet with vitamin D for a few days. Have their ever been any sneezing or upper respiratory infection?

 

[FoxySonia]

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I have the same problem with 1 of my hens.

I have 15 hens that are over a year old, they hatched on April/May 2021. Yesterday, 1 of my bantam hens just laid a soft shelled egg. She's an Easter Egger that has had trouble laying and I have had to help her on 4 separate occasions so far, by syringing oil around the stuck egg so it could come out. The first 3 times the eggs were normal hard shelled eggs, but had small pimples on the shell, and they didn't seem particularly too large for her to lay. The only other hens that have had problems with laying (eggbound and blowout) have been my 3 Brabanter hens, sadly 2 have died and just 1 remain. None of my other hens have laid a soft shelled egg, but my Maran has laid fairy eggs 3 times, the last time was a few days ago. For the bantam Easter Egger, it is possible that this wasn't the 1st time she has laid a soft shelled egg, if she had laid 1 before yesterday, the other hens could have eaten it before I could get it.

I don't know what exactly could be causing these problems, though I suspect that with the Brabanters, which I purchased from the Ideal hatchery, along with many of my chickens, I think their problem is caused by bad genetics. But with the other hens it might be caused by diet or disease. Some of my first hens I purchased from a backyard breeder in Connecticut that sold me 6 sick hens. All ended up dying. My newer hens, with the exception of the Brabanters, have had no health problems until now. This summer I did lose an Appenzeller hen during the heatwave, I think from a heart attack, she just dropped dead during the night. And I loss a Silkie hen after she spent over 5 weeks incubating eggs and about a month raising her 1st and only brood. She barely ate during all those weeks, so when she died she was pretty emaciated. The other 10 hens that went broody and hatched chicks have remained healthy.

The problem now could be caused by nutritional deficiencies. Last year, before 11 of my hens became broody, they were all eating Scratch and Peck 18% Protein Organic Layer Feed, before I switched them to Grubbly Farms Layer Feed Crumbles. The reason for the switch in feed was because the Scratch and Peck feed is about 40% powder that my chickens refused to eat. Most of the vitamins and minerals of the food remained in that powder, so by them not eating that powder they were not getting all the nutrients they needed. The Grubbly Farms Crumbles also have powder but not as much, maybe 20%. But when the 11 hens were sitting on eggs and for a couple of months after their babies hatched, they ate Grubbly's Little Pecks Chick Grower Feed. They get supplemental oyster shells on the side. This could have cause a calcium deficiency?

I have resumed giving the hens their layer crumbles and continue giving them oyster shells and grubs for extra calcium, but since I have 12 pullets that still eat the chick/grower crumble as they have not started laying eggs yet, the hens also eat some of the pullets feed, just as the pullets eat some of the hens layer feed.

I have UpCal D powdered calcium citrate with vitamin D. I added some to scrambled eggs that I offered to the Easter Egger that laid the soft shelled egg. Should I add the powdered calcium to the hens layer crumbles? Could too much calcium cause a problem?

I have checked the hens for external parasites and have not spotted any. They were last treated for internal parasites about 6 months ago, with Safe-Guard pellets and a natural dewormer that comes in capsules, so I'll be treating them again soon, this time with Safe-Guard liquid goat dewormer. I'm just not sure how much to give my bantam hens and pullets, as I don't know their weight.

Here's photos that show the soft shelled egg next to 1 of her hard shelled eggs:

Here's a photo of the bantam Easter Egger (the golden one). She looks rough since she's still missing some of her saddle feathers that had been ripped out by the roosters before they went to their new home, and she has some bald spots around her head and neck from the feather eating hens before they went to their new home.

 

[Tookie]

Sorry, I don't mean to hijack this thread, but I have the same problem with 1 of my hens.

I have 15 hens that are over a year old, they hatched on April/May 2021. Yesterday, 1 of my bantam hens just laid a soft shelled egg. She's an Easter Egger that has had trouble laying and I have had to help her on 4 separate occasions so far, by syringing oil around the stuck egg so it could come out. The first 3 times the eggs were normal hard shelled eggs, but had small pimples on the shell, and they didn't seem particularly too large for her to lay. The only other hens that have had problems with laying (eggbound and blowout) have been my 3 Brabanter hens, sadly 2 have died and just 1 remain. None of my other hens have laid a soft shelled egg, but my Maran has laid fair eggs 3 times, the last time was a few days ago. For the bantam Easter Egger, it is possible that this wasn't the 1st time she has laid a soft shelled egg, if she had laid 1 before yesterday, the other hens could have eaten it before I could get it.

I don't know what exactly could be causing these problems, though I suspect that with the Brabanters, which I purchased from the Ideal hatchery, along with many of my chickens, I think their problem is caused by bad genetics. But with the other hens it might be caused by diet or disease. Some of my first hens I purchased from a backyard breeder in Connecticut that sold me 6 sick hens. All ended up dying. My newer hens, with the exception of the Brabanters, have had no health problems until now. This summer I did lose an Appenzeller hen during the heatwave, I think from a heart attack, she just dropped dead during the night. And I loss a Silkie hen after she spent over 5 weeks incubating eggs and about a month raising her 1st and only brood. She barely ate during all those weeks, so when she died she was pretty emaciated. The other 10 hens that went broody and hatched chicks have remained healthy.

The problem now could be caused by nutritional deficiencies. Last year, before 11 of my hens became broody, they were all eating Scratch and Peck 18% Protein Organic Layer Feed, before I switched them to Grubbly Farms Layer Feed Crumbles. The reason for the switch in feed was because the Scratch and Peck feed is about 40% powder that my chickens refused to eat. Most of the vitamins and minerals of the food remained in that powder, so by them not eating that powder they were not getting all the nutrients they needed. The Grubbly Farms Crumbles also have powder but not as much, maybe 20%. But when the 11 hens were sitting on eggs and for a couple of months after their babies hatched, they ate Grubbly's Little Pecks Chick Grower Feed. They get supplemental oyster shells on the side. This could have cause a calcium deficiency?

I have resumed giving the hens their layer crumbles and continue giving them oyster shells and grubs for extra calcium, but since I have 12 pullets that still eat the chick/grower crumble as they have not started laying eggs yet, the hens also eat some of the pullets feed, just as the pullets eat some of the hens layer feed.

I have powdered calcium carbonate. I added some to scrambled eggs that I offered to the Easter Egger that laid the soft shelled egg. Should I add the powder calcium to the hens layer crumbles? Could too much calcium cause a problem?

I have checked the hens for external parasites and have not spotted any. They were last treated for internal parasites about 6 months ago, with Safe-Guard pellets and a natural dewormer that comes in capsules, so I'll be treating them again soon, this time with Safe-Guard liquid goat dewormer. I'm just not sure how much to give my bantam hens and pullets, as I don't know their weight.

Here's photos that show the soft shelled egg next to 1 of her hard shelled eggs:

View attachment 3263297
View attachment 3263298
Here's a photo of the bantam Easter Egger (the golden one). She looks rough since she's still missing some of her saddle feathers that had been ripped out by the roosters before they went to their new home, and she has some bald spots around her head and neck from the feather eating hens before they went to their new home.
View attachment 3263303

Its ok!
I would give her calcium citrate +D3 tablets, one tablet once a day until her eggs are normal.
Do you give any treats? Anything other than their feed?
You can give all your chickens the grower feed so you don't have to worry about who eats what, also give oyster shell on the side for the hens, the pullets shouldn't touch them until they're ready to lay.

 

[FoxySonia]

Its ok!
I would give her calcium citrate +D3 tablets, one tablet once a day until her eggs are normal.
Do you give any treats? Anything other than their feed?
You can give all your chickens the grower feed so you don't have to worry about who eats what, also give oyster shell on the side for the hens, the pullets shouldn't touch them until they're ready to lay.

Occasionally I give my chickens treats but not too much, and not often. I didn't give them treats, other than GrubTerra grubs, while the hens were broody/incubating eggs or raising their chicks. Now that their remaining chicks that I kept are over 4 months old I occasionally give them a vegetable such as cabbage or kale, a handful of scratch and grubs mixed with their feed. The hens get oyster shell on the side as well as a handful mixed with their feed. On rare occasions I give them scrambled eggs with the shell.

This is the powdered calcium that I have. How much of it would be safe to give mixed with their crumbles feed? I have 15 adult hens and 12 pullets.

 

[Tookie]

Occasionally I give my chickens treats but not too much, and not often. I didn't give them treats, other than GrubTerra grubs, while the hens were broody/incubating eggs or raising their chicks. Now that their remaining chicks that I kept are over 4 months old I occasionally give them a vegetable such as cabbage or kale, a handful of scratch and grubs mixed with their feed. The hens get oyster shell on the side as well as a handful mixed with their feed. On rare occasions I give them scrambled eggs with the shell.

This is the powdered calcium that I have. How much of it would be safe to give mixed with their crumbles feed? I have 15 adult hens and 12 pullets.
View attachment 3263436

Well the powder looks to be calcium citrate +D3, it should work.
Let me figure out how much she needs.

 

[Tookie]

Wait, are you giving this to all the chickens?

 

[FoxySonia]

Wait, are you giving this to all the chickens?

Yes, I sprinkle a little of the powder over their feed.

 

[Tookie]

Yes, I sprinkle a little of the powder over their feed.

How is your hens eggs?