Is this some type of deficiency?

[misspnme]

Hi, I have 7 one year old RIRs. One of them, I don't know who consistently lays a very soft shelled egg. It's not rubbery, just very soft and thin. They crack very easily. It's been about a month of these types of eggs. Is this a red flag to some type of deficiency? Something she's lacking in her diet?

 

[gritsar]

Do they have oyster shell as a supplement to their feed? If not, that should fix the problem. If they do have the oyster shell, it could be just that hen going through a bad phase or the hen has a genetic defect, like some woman being unable to bear children. Keep in mind that some hens just have more of a need for calcium than others.

ETA: If the hens are a tad bit older than a year, say closer to 16 months, she may be getting ready to molt. My brother had that issue with an RIR recently. He thought she was too young to molt (14 months). I told him to wait her out and sure enough she molted.

 

[aart]

If your other birds are not laying funky eggs, and everyone has good nutrition available, it's probably just one birds inability to process the nutrients you are giving them.

Could be onset of molt or some other stressor. I had 2 hens this winter laying funky shaped and thin shelled eggs, went on for several months......I think they were in a long slow molt, plumage was restored come spring and so was egg quality.