Hen laying two eggs a day (one shelled other without)

[meganworthy]

Hi all! Hoping for just a little peace of mind here. I have a Sapphire Gem (6 months old) that is laying phenomenally, but yesterday I witnessed a weird occurrence. She laid another egg around 5P (had already laid before 10A) but it was completely without a shell. Completely intact yolk and all! I was very confused, she was totally fine and just went about her business. Then, today the exact same thing happened, time and everything. I read about it and saw that she may just be overproducing (she's only been laying a month) and doesn't have the calcium to shell both eggs a day. But the morning eggs are all super normal, hard shelled and beautiful. I guess really what I am wondering is, if this is okay? And should I increase her calcium intake? Chickens are on the Purina Layena (high protein + oyster shells) feed and is also able to free range for several hours everyday.

Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[ChickNanny13]

She's a 'newbie' to laying so her reproductive system may need time to adjust itself yet. Laying 2x a day is awesome yet I'd be concerned about 'wearing herself out'. It normally takes 20+ hrs for an egg to form and get laid. So my thought is her second egg is not having enough calcium for the shell to form. You could try adding an extra dish (free feed) of Oyster Shells for the hens, they'll eat as they need. It may help her but hopefully her system will work itself out.

 

[Kriscam]

Hi all! Hoping for just a little peace of mind here. I have a Sapphire Gem (6 months old) that is laying phenomenally, but yesterday I witnessed a weird occurrence. She laid another egg around 5P (had already laid before 10A) but it was completely without a shell. Completely intact yolk and all! I was very confused, she was totally fine and just went about her business. Then, today the exact same thing happened, time and everything. I read about it and saw that she may just be overproducing (she's only been laying a month) and doesn't have the calcium to shell both eggs a day. But the morning eggs are all super normal, hard shelled and beautiful. I guess really what I am wondering is, if this is okay? And should I increase her calcium intake? Chickens are on the Purina Layena (high protein + oyster shells) feed and is also able to free range for several hours everyday.

Thanks for your help in advance!

I am in the same boat. I have a young barred rock who was laying up to three eggs in a 12 hour period. The first in the morning was normal, then in the evening and sometimes overnight, she would lay two more soft shell/rubbery eggs within about 20 minutes of each other. She started laying 3.5 weeks ago, and the last three days she's had three normal days in a row with a normal egg in the morning and none in the pm. A couple of her "normal" eggs have had double yokes, so she's still over-ovulating, but at least she's only having to produce one finished egg instead of two. I'm hoping that her system was just getting adjusted and that she will be OK from here on. I provide the same feed that you do and also give them free choice oyster shell. I consulted with a vet who said if the problem persists it's just the way her system is wired, and that she may be at higher risk for egg binding. For that reason he said providing her more calcium might not necessarily be advisable. I hope this anomaly is temporary for our girls. Good luck!