Laying an egg without a shell?

[animalfarmer]

Yes that's the challenge rooting out the non layers! Have identified one and she's tagged round the leg. Have separated the pullets in the day time as they are on a vitamin rich 6-12 weeks feed. In 2 weeks time we'll mix them with the others then isolate the oldies one by one till they produce something or get fed to the dogs!

 

[YardBirdCountry]

Hate that you have an egg eater. I have some RIRs in my flock but don't have that problem.

Mine always have plenty of layer ration but I also feed them lots of scraps. Maybe I have a picky eater that avoids the ration and just waits for scraps.

 

[Chuck Norian]

Wow

 

[cindynkidsd]

I had the egg eating problem one time. I've used golf balls ever since and never had any more problems.

 

[keckhart]

Animalfarmer what exactly do you mean by "fed to the dogs"? I would certainly hope you humanely kill them first.

 

[CountryGeorge]

I am not into eggs in any kind of a commercial sense, as a matter of fact I give excess away rather than sell them. My ladies are just coming up on two years old in April and they will be with me until they die of old age. They are pets much more than egg producing machines and I certainly don't begrudge the sack of grain I get them each month, the fifteen bucks or so is worth the enjoyment I get from watching the flock.

 

[OldBiddie33]

My new layer did that a few times before getting it right. It was like she had to get a running start.

 

[monkeyqueen]

Added golf balls to the boxes, no more pecking other's eggs, but she's still laying soft eggs. don't understand as she eats what the others do and they have nice hard shelled eggs.

 

[Spikes Chooks]

Added golf balls to the boxes, no more pecking other's eggs, but she's still laying soft eggs. don't understand as she eats what the others do and they have nice hard shelled eggs.

I have a RIR that does this from time to time. She also lays some eggs where all the colour pigment is at one end. So I guess her shell-producing metabolism is a bit out of whack. They are all 2 years old. I give them all chicken vitamins once a week and this seems to have kept it in check. I know she is getting enough calcium, as I see her eating shell grit and they all eat the same mash with calcium in it. Maybe she has a deficinecy in something else that helps her metabolise calcium. Maybe something else in her body isn't quite working properly. They will eat the no-shell eggs (which aren't laid in the box, she never really senses it's an egg coming). But don't break or eat shelled eggs, even the thin ones. Just saying, that in these circumstances I am just managing around the problem and not worrying too much about it.

 

[Andiexb]

I have only found a shell-less egg when one leghorn pullet first started laying. I do seem to have a problem with thin-shelled eggs from one of my production hens, however. I know they get plenty of calcium, and I've come to the decision that she is just kind of a dud. it sucks that her egg sometimes breaks on the other eggs, but she is one of my favorites so ill keep her around.