Laying egg with very thin shell

Brown2832

Hatching
May 18, 2020
1
0
7
I have a couple groups of chickens. My first group is now a little over two years old. I have 7 hens and one rooster.
I only get 3 maybe 4 eggs from them. What I am puzzled about is I also get one egg with a very thin shell and usually broken open.
I have my suspicions about which girl it is but am not positive. They all get grit and egg laying feed.
I am not sure if I can do anything to help her with the problem
Any ideas ?
Mary Brown
 
Even with the high calcium content in layer feed, it's good to offer a calcium supplement in the form of oyster shell. Each hen has different calcium needs and different rates of absorption. Each will eat oyster shell as she feels she needs it.

Even still, occasionally a hen will not absorb calcium well enough to build strong shells. When they lay a thin-shell egg, it often gets broken as the hen is leaving the nest. She or other hens coming along later will take advantage of the broken egg and eat the contents, giving the appearance of having broken into the egg for the sinister purpose of eating it.

Yes, there is something you can do about the poor shell quality. First, identify which hen is laying the thin-shell eggs. Then give her one calcium citrate or gluconate tablet each day until the shells are sturdy again.
 
If you know which hen is the likely culprit, you can try giving her additional calcium to find out if 1) her system is capable of producing regular shells and 2) if her calcium needs are either higher or she's not eating enough via oyster shell.

Rather than trying to get the bird to take a pill, you can try this method which works for me: https://www.backyardchickens.com/th...r-shell-less-egg-layer.1387168/#post-22781183 If it works, you should see improvement in a week or two.
 

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