many many soft shelled eggs

[aggiemae]

We have four one year old hens and now that the days are longer we are are getting at least three egg a day, and have had four a day for the three of the past 7 days. But I am also finding many soft shelled eggs,

I found four yesterday but hadn't clean the coop floor in 4 days. I added more calcium to their feed. Then this morning I found another egg mess on the coop floor. I am sure were at least three and possible four small soft shelled eggs around the same area under the roost and also another one broken all over in front of the next box.

Since all our hens lays different shades of brown I know we are getting fewer eggs from our Buff Orp so I fed her a cooked egg shell and all yesterday morning. But since they free range so only about 40% of thier diet is feed and the two RIR tend to have thin shelled eggs I add crushed eggs to there morning feed when ever I notice the shells thinning. They have free access to additional calcium.

They all appear to be healthy and their vents are clean moist and opened but I am concerned

1. that one of the thin egg will crack internally

2. seems like producing 2-4 eggs, even soft shelled eggs, per day would be hard on a hen.

I should/could be doing anything besides adding calcium?

 

[rcdavis20]

I get the occasional soft egg from my 8 birds. I started giving them oyster shell which seems to help over time. They also get mealworms for more protein.

 

[aggiemae]

I increrased the calcium again and the shells of the other hens are actually getting hard to crack opened.

But it's not occasion it's a few time a day and though I saw the hen visits the nest box a few times yesterday, she has not laid a formed eggs for the past three days. She has stopped laying. She is eating and moving about but her comb looks a bit pale and this morning she was following me around and squawking at me.

She lays extra large eggs. Could she be egg bound even though I am finding the casings of the soft shells on the coop floor?

 

[Mehjr10]

Oystershell if they are not getting it, free choice let them eat all they want. Then see if she does not go back to normal..

 

[aggiemae]

They always have free choice oyster shells available and I am also crushing egg shells into their morning meal.

Good news, I gave her a long warm soak and she laid an egg about an hour later. It was pretty sticky on the outside (looked like yoke) but smelled OK, her vent is clean and no sign of infection.

I am not new to chickens and this is all pretty strange.

 

[Mehjr10]

Sorry not much help then, seems like i had read about something similar on here before and it was a reproductive problem with the hen. Maybe someone else will chime in.

Good Luck with her..

 

[ChickensRDinos]

You might try giving vitamin D. It could be an calcium absorption problem rather than a lack of calcium.

 

[Mehjr10]

Have you seen this, maybe some of the items may match up with your girl, http://www.merckmanuals.com/vet/pou...e_system/cystic_right_oviduct_in_poultry.html

 

[aggiemae]

I started to supplement their vitamins yesterday.

 

[aggiemae]

The laying of shell less eggs continues. At this point the egg looks like a normal yoke in a clear sack with a 3" long stem that looks like an umbilical cord. Most are layed from the roost but we have found a few in the nest box.

Due to an unfortunate combination of dusting in newly tilled heavy clay soil followed by wading at the bubblier I had to give both RIR's baths today to remove the giant chunks of dried clay from their butt and chest feathers. While I was bathing them I realized they are both slightly wheezy. They are not sneezing or having any nasal discharge, but maybe it's just that I just caught this early because I was bathing them?

Could the daily shell less eggs be related to a viral URI? The other hens don't have any URI symptoms.though, after 4 eggs a day for over a month, we have only been getting one egg a day for the past week, so they are all off laying right now.