Here we go again....soft shell problems continue

[h2olilee]

I have three bantam gold laced wyandottes hens. One of them has been having soft shell egg problems since she started laying last year (they are two years old). She had this issue last year too and now that they're laying again after not laying all winter, she's having the problems again.

She regularly (1-2 times a week) lays a soft shell or no shell egg. She does also lay a couple normal eggs during the week (though they do seem weaker than the other hens' eggs). Twice last year I had to pull out a soft shell (squished shell only) from her vent that was sticking out.

I do give them lots of calcium, so I kinda don't think that's the cause of the problem. They get free choice of three different kinds of oyster shells which I keep topped off and sprinkled in their favorite foraging areas, I put calcium gluconate in their water, they get treats of mealworms coated in cod liver oil and sprinkled with calcium/Vitamin D powder (the kind you can buy for reptiles), and I add a "feed booster" to their organic feed which contains calcium along with phoshorus & Vitamin D to help them absorb the calcium.

What else besides calcium deficiency can cause soft shell problems? Could she just have a genetic defect? The other two hens (they are all sisters) lay normal eggs just fine. I just don't know what else to do for her- she is obviously uncomfortable when she's having problems laying. She has also gotten egg bound a couple time last year and I had to give her warm baths so she could pass them. One time a soft shell egg followed right behind a normal egg she was having a hard time laying.

I have researched extensively on this site and other sites and I always get the calcium deficiency explanation. Any other ideas? I really want to help her.

Thanks for any suggestions/insight.

 

[h2olilee]

This morning when I let them out in the yard (they get out for about an hour each morning), the hen who's had the soft/no shell issues (Mocha) stayed in the nest box while the other two came out. After about half an hour she finally came out into the yard and "sprayed" out a shelless egg. Here's what it looked like:

The white has lots of solid white streaks in it. Could that be undeveloped shell?

Tonight when I got home she didn't seem like a happy camper. Maybe there is a squished shell still inside her? I gave her a warm water bath tonight to try and see if there was a shell, but I couldn't see anything. There was a lot of pasty poo stuck on her feathers and I got most of that off in the bath.

Question is the same as before-- any other causes for what's happening besides calcium deficiency?
Any other ideas would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Somewhere on here someone has posted a link to list of reasons for defective eggs. I'll see if I can find it...
Sorry for all your problems. That has got to be so worrying.

 

[Yay Chicks!]

Well, here's something. Hope it helps.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/ourbooks/1/egg-quality-handbook/

 

[Moabite]

Have you tried giving her some Apple Cider Vinegar? I don't know anything but am curious.

 

[Celtic Chick]

Hope these help:

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...ndbook/16/thinshelled-eggs-and-shellless-eggs

Egg problems of all kinds:
http://www.blpbooks.co.uk/articles/egg_problems/egg_problems.php

Soft-shelled eggs
The first pullet egg may be soft-shelled until her system gets into its stride. If it continues, make sure that the birds are getting a balanced diet such as that provided by a commercial free-range or organic layer’s ration. Such feeds will usually contain calcium and phosphorus in the right ratio (around 3.5-4% calcium to 0.3% phosphorus). Providing a little crushed oyster-shell or calcified seaweed will ensure that any deficiency is rectified, for the birds will not take more than they require.

A shock can also make a hen lay a soft-shelled egg. My own observations are that if a flock is caught in a sudden shower of rain (for they are sometimes too dim to run for shelter), a few soft-shelled eggs are often produced the next day, but by the following day, they’re back to normal.

It is when soft-shelled eggs or misshapen ones are produced regularly that there need be a cause for concern. Veterinary advice should be sought. Conditions that adversely affect eggs include Newcastle disease (a notifiable disease to the authorities) and Infectious bronchitis, but there would be disease symptoms showing in the birds themselves if either of these was present. Hybrids are normally vaccinated against them.

Egg drop syndrome (EDS) is also a viral infection that results in a reduced number of eggs, as well as an increased number of pale-shelled eggs. Birds do recover from it but egg production may not get back to its previous level and there may still be a proportion of deformed ones produced. It can be vaccinated against.

Try Google too.

Hope your problem clears up.

 

[Knittycat]

Some chickens have defective shell glands. If everybody else is fine, and she's not sick, she may just have an issue with producing shell.