Long time to be Broody or other issue? Help please

[The Kwiatkowski Family]

We have a hen that is a year and a half old. For the last few months she has been what some describe as broody and not laying consistently. If she lays an egg it's either shell-less or soft and even less often a good shell. She is missing the feathers on her belly, with the obvious irritation but does not appear or act at all sick. We feed them layer crumble that is high in protein, calcium pellets and regular veggie and fruit treats. I noticed one of the young hens with the missing belly feathers today, she's only about 9-10 months old, is this a molt or do I have some sort of disease going through the coop?

Thanks,
Kevan

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

Often the feathers on their underside get rubbed off in the nestboxes or some hens pluck them for better egg contact.

Not every hen lays daily. Some are inconsistent.

Eggs without shells can be from stress, or a problem with the shell gland. They are also seen more as hens are starting up or shutting down. Not much you can do about them except to keep stress to a minimum.