I need help diagnosing a shell-less egg problem-PICS

[Backyard Buddies]

Hey Kelly. What ever happened with this? Is this Daphne? I'm having the same problem over here with Penny and went on a search to see who else might be having this problem and found your post. Since your girls and mine are the same age (well, OK, yours are 3 days older!) it seems an odd coincidence. Penny's problem started on July 3rd and is still going on. I posted about it here:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=75038

I'm curious as to whether you found a solution.

 

[Kelly FG]

Hey Shelly, yes its Daphne & it started a few months ago. I haven't solved it & I worried that her health would deteriorate but she is perfectly healthy in every other way. I rarely see her eat oyster chips & she is by far more masculine than the other girls-she's always been the alpha-hen.
She will occasionally sit in the nest, if she lays her shell-less egg in there either she eats it or someone else does because I never see it. I have seen her lay a few around the yard & the other girls usually eat it within seconds. Kinda gross I know but they are fast. She seems to go off by herself when she needs to lay one & she stands there & pushes & pushes. It seems to require more effort than a regular egg, she often seems out of sorts before she lays it. Then she's fine right after. its odd.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Hey Kelly. That's very interesting. Penny is also the most masculine of my girls. You should see the whoppin' spurs on that girl! And, like Daphne, she tends toward being the head of the flock. I wonder if this is simply a coincidence or if there is something to all of this.

How often is Daphne laying these funky eggs? Have you gotten any from her that had shells but were whoppers with runny whites? Penny has laid two of those amongst her soft shelled ones.

 

[Kelly FG]

I wish I could say I was keeping track but its been a crazy summer & I've had a few weird eggs but never pinpointed who laid them.
I think she lays a few tailed soft shells a week, but I'm not sure. She seems to wait until later in the day. She was never a great layer & always laid the smallest eggs in my flock.
Somehow I think its related to her masculinty and her not producing enough female hormone to complete the process.
Her comb is large & much more red than some of my great layers, her eyes are bright, her feathers have a beautiful shine, her feet & legs are perfect & her vent is healthy looking. I've checked her over from top to bottom & I don't think she's got anything wrong with her.
I have decided that she's just a butch. Oh and another important fact, she NEVER squats anymore but will flog the other girls if they get in the mating position & let me rub them. She still loves sitting on my lap, bossing everyone around at feed time & occasionally picking fights with the wimpy girls for no reason, she still sings when the other girls lay & sometimes out of the blue just as she's always done.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Hmmm. Much of this is sounding familiar, although Penny will sometimes lay one of these soft shelled eggs off the roost early in the morning. Penny has never been much of a squatter (very half-hearted at best), even when she laid eggs on a regular basis. I just assumed that it was because she was top hen and wasn't going to be subservient to anyone. Like Daphne, everything else looks good. Keep me informed if there are any changes and I'll do the same.

 

[LV426]

Just a question but do those of you with the shell less egg problems have roosters?

I just wondered because if you don't it could be that your alphas are taking on a more masculine role to fullfill that in the flock structure. Sometimes this can result in an increase of testosterone which can interfere with ovary functioning and lead to shell less eggs. Not just in chickens but in many social bird species.

 

[Backyard Buddies]

Quote:
Nope, no rooster here. I wonder if this could be part of what is going on. I've done some reading on this and understand that it can remain this way until the molt period. I haven't noticed any feather change thus far, only the egg issue. My girl does have some pretty good sized spurs for a girl - over an inch long. Neither of the other girls have spurs and she's had them for quite some time.

 

[DesertDawg]

I have a standard Roo and 2 Bantam Roos.

 

[Kelly FG]

No roo here either & my hen that lays the shell-less eggs is 100% the alpha hen.

 

[beakkeeper]

Try forcing her into a molt by stressing her for a while (little food) new home, new feed, etc. and she should come out of it soon after