how many soft shelled/no shelled eggs have you gotten?

[BBK]

I've only had my girls since April and they just started laying end of Aug./beginning Sept.

I've only had ONE soft shell. (this is probably pretty good,right)?

It was pretty weird. One of the girls broke it where they lay. I had to take a shovel to get everythnig out, threw it on the outskirts of our yard. When I let the girls out, They were runnnig EVERYwhere. I thought something was up...oh yeah, one had that soft shell and was running for her life!!! LOL Everyone else was chasing her, I'm guessing b/c they wanted to eat it.

What's the reason for these soft shells?
Just beginning layers?
So, I shouldn't get anymore?

I still get little eggs tho... and i've NEVER gotten 10 eggs out of 10 girls! Should I? The most has been 8 one day.Mostly 6-7. The other day tho, i got 3 eggs.... it was cold and dark, rainy. Just awful.

melinda

 

[twentynine]

Present chickens have been laying 3 weeks, no soft or no shell eggs.

In the past I have had one soft shell egg. I think maybe the chickens ate the no shell eggs.

 

[jafo]

We had a soft shell egg two weeks ago. The girls have been putting out 3-4 a day, and they differ in age slightly. This ss egg was huge, it looked really wierd as I thought it was an embryo,,,,,,wish I had taken pics.

 

[gsim]

We have flock of 24, 4 breeds. We got our first egg at 16 weeks, and it was soft. Have seen total of 3 soft shelled, and suspect in all 3 cases was first egg. Had two so far dropped from roost. Seems that they learn to go into the nests where I have put golf balls. It is now week 20 and we get 4 or 5 a day, all good and one consistently large double-yolker. I think your softies will disappear. If not, are they getting calcium? Live greens best calcium, crushed mussell shells ok. I feed both. I also recycle crushed egg shells back into their feed.

 

[newchicksnducks]

We have a mixed age flock. The oldest started laying perfect, if small eggs, at 21 weeks, although her same age sisters seem to have waited 5 weeks till the next batch was 21 weeks! When this second group started laying almost 2 weeks ago, they had perfect eggs for a couple days, then took a day or so off, then layed again. But because we also have one more group that is 3 weeks younger than the middle group, I'm not sure if the middlers have been laying some soft shelled eggs while on the roost or if the younger ones are trying to catch on to the laying thing.

Anyways, in a 8 day period I had 5 soft shelled eggs layed from the roost onto the droppings board below. Luckily, no sign of any of the girls trying to eat them! The eggs layed in the nesting box are always perfectly shelled, if smaller than "normal". Of course, our first layers eggs have grown in size considerably over the past 6 weeks. I've always offered oyster shell as free choice...I guess it just takes some of the girls a while to get the kinks out of this laying business

 

[A.T. Hagan]

Once in a while, but not very often.

.....Alan.

 

[txchickie]

Never had one. I've never even found a funny looking egg..........is it bad that I am dissapointed? LOL

 

[PatS]

At least one hen has been laying for a week. (She is a b.o. and began at 21 weeks.) We have gotten 2 normal sized soft shells and 4 normal shelled eggs. One of the soft shelled eggs seems to have come out at the same time as a normal egg, and then she didn't lay the following day. (Maybe because she's new at this?)

They are eating layer pellets mixed with the last little bit of flock starter and I have sprinkled some oyster shell in with their feed. They will eat almost anything I give them but turn up their beaks at the oyster shell, so I have to mix it in. They have access to feed 24/7 and free range by choice almost all day, every day. Everyone seems strong and healthy.

 

[Jen4]

I've only had 2 since they started laying in Aug. but whos to say their not laying them and eating them when no one is looking,

 

[mountainvieworchards]

I have had some soft shelled eggs. In my case there are at least two birds laying them. One is a Barnevedler hen 1 1/12 year old. She usually lays them in the yard, I have seen her do it twice, and of course all the birds runover to eat it. She is also laying hard shelled eggs in the nest box so I suspect she is passing two eggs and the first one gets all the shell.

I also have a marans pullet laying soft eggs. I always find the soft shelled egg next to her hard shelled egg on the dropping board in the morning. Both are dark colored so it seems she is short on shell but has enough pigment to spray the shell a little. Since it happens like this everytime I guessed that she is also passing two eggs and instead of it being double yolk it is a normal and a soft egg. Since these are usually pretty well covered with droppings by the time I find them, I wash them and hard boil them for the chickens.

Anyone else have it happen like that.