Hens fighting rooster/soft egg

Crazychickadee

In the Brooder
Jun 29, 2021
18
26
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I am not sure if these are related or not but I started to notice one of my hens are laying eggs maybe once or twice a week and the shell is like paper. I have 23 hens and 2 Roos (lost a couple hens to predators and illness) I have plenty of oyster shells out as an option and they don’t seem to really eat it so I didn’t think it was a calcium issue. Than I noticed that some of my hens don’t take kind to the one or both of the Roos. To the point where they are fighting which can go on for a bit. No injuries that I have noticed… BUT since this has started one of the Roos has squared up at me twice now (was never a thing) to the point where I had turned my back and he went at my leg and I had to nudge him off with my foot or I was going to get it. So my question is do I possibly have one too to many now that’s is causing stress in my flock? I have not been able to pin point which hen is laying the soft eggs(they break on touch) but was wondering if the too might be causing tooo much stress? Any thoughts are helpful!!
 
I am in Florida, any suggestions on figuring out which hen is laying the soft eggs? I have been trying to check through out the day but keep missing the hen I always just find the egg shell. That what I was figuring on with the roo. I had separate the the Roos yesterday for a couple hours but as soon as I put them back for the night the roo grabbed 4 hens in the face and than squared on me for just standing near him. He spent the night alone….
 
I understood you just had the four hens. Twenty-three will be daunting. But the same strategy would be employed. Spend a morning watching the nest boxes, making note of which hens are currently in them. Keep checking the boxes so you are able to check off the hens that have laid normal eggs. Eventually, you'll see a hen leave a thin shell egg in the nest, and you will have noted which one she is prior to the egg appearing.

If you haven't named your chickens and are familiar with each one's characteristics, distinguishing them all as individuals, then finding the hen wo lays these eggs may be impossible. Your only other recourse would be to give all of them extra calcium in the form of a calcium tablet for a few days to try to correct this. It could produce excessive calcium deposits on the egg shells of the normal hens, but other than that, over the short term, it shouldn't hurt anything.
 
Awesome! Thank you I wasn’t sure if that would harm the other hens. I am still going to try and find the right hen but in the mean time I will do this!! The hens that stick out the most have names :p but it’s hard to tell a handful apart thanks soooo much for the advise!
 
What is your location on the planet? Knowing that might give us clues.

Thin shell eggs is caused mainly by calcium deficiency, maybe a small part by stress. Molt can contribute to this if your flock is in the top half of the planet.

It's important to identify which hen is laying the paper thin eggs before one collapses inside her and sends her into a full blown reproductive crisis. When you know which one she is, give her one calcium citrate tablet each day until her eggs are normal again. Calcium citrate works faster and is digested more easily than calcium carbonate, which is what oyster shell is. Once the eggs are normal again, stop the citrate and let the hen go back to the oyster shell.

Misbehaving roosters aren't goo for hens or humans. It would be a good idea to remove the problem roo from the flock for everyone's sake.
 
I take it all lay the same size and color. It shouldn't be difficult with four hens, though, if you spend one morning diligently spying on them as they are in the nest boxes. You will need to be a pest, and peek at them constantly as they lay. When a hen goes into the box, look in on her every ten minutes. ou should be able to catch the hen laying the thin shells.
 
I take it all lay the same size and color. It shouldn't be difficult with four hens, though, if you spend one morning diligently spying on them as they are in the nest boxes. You will need to be a pest, and peek at them constantly as they lay. When a hen goes into the box, look in on her every ten minutes. ou should be able to catch the hen laying the thin shells.
I have 23 hens all laying which is making it a bit of a trial I think it might be one of my original 6 but short of trying to sperate them in another pen(idk what that will do the the pecking order) and trying that? they all lay light brown eggs but this hen the eggs are a darker brown.
 
I understood you just had the four hens. Twenty-three will be daunting. But the same strategy would be employed. Spend a morning watching the nest boxes, making note of which hens are currently in them. Keep checking the boxes so you are able to check off the hens that have laid normal eggs. Eventually, you'll see a hen leave a thin shell egg in the nest, and you will have noted which one she is prior to the egg appearing.

If you haven't named your chickens and are familiar with each one's characteristics, distinguishing them all as individuals, then finding the hen wo lays these eggs may be impossible. Your only other recourse would be to give all of them extra calcium in the form of a calcium tablet for a few days to try to correct this. It could produce excessive calcium deposits on the egg shells of the normal hens, but other than that, over the short term, it shouldn't hurt anything.
 

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