My 22 week old Hen is now laying soft eggs

[starbugs]

Hi Everyone - I would love to get some help/advice regarding my 22 week old Black Copper Marans hen who just started laying soft eggs. Here is my scenario:

She laid her first egg at about 17 weeks old and from the start they were perfectly shaped, hard, dark brown eggs.
I only have two hens total and one Buff Orpington rooster.

I feed them organic Countryside laying feed and have a dish of oyster shell and grit available at all times. My girls free range every day for about an hour in the morning and a couple of hours in the evening (so I can watch them - predators) -
I also give them a small dish of yogurt or cottage cheese with oats and flaxseed almost every day.

I keep the rooster (who they grew up with) OUT of the run during the day but physically pick him up and put him in the coop at night so he is with the girls. In the morning, I let him out first and then let the girls out into the run area so they can eat, etc. in peace.

I first noticed a soft egg under the roost about 3 mornings ago. It was as if she had laid the egg while sitting on the roost at night. I have since found the same soft egg under the roost each morning. (today is Day 3)

What do you think is causing this? Could the rooster be stressing her during the night? They all free range together when I let them out and they don't seem to mind 'Daisy' their rooster at all -
I know she is a young hen, just starting to lay, but if she hadn't already laid such perfect eggs for the past 4 weeks, I would think it was because she was just getting started.

Any help would be GREATLY appreciated!!
Thanks SO much!

 

[terryg]

Sometimes it takes a pullet awhile to get their egg laying systems in regular working order! But, if this is a regular occurrence, then there could be something interrupting her day and causing her to lay too soon. (An unknown predator?) Also, stress will interfere with the laying down of the shell and you will see soft eggs. Diet is also a big factor. I found that putting oyster shell on the ground was wasteful and they didn't eat much out of bowl. Now I offer it in a little hopper designed for rabbit feed (see photo here: http://hencam.com/faq/what-to-feed-your-chickens/) and the girls eat more.

 

[starbugs]

Thank you Terry for your quick response! I'll continue to keep an eye on her to see if I can see anything out of the ordinary going on - their coop is very secure at night (I put a LOCK on each of the doors when I close them up at night) but, there could be something prowling around undetected by us. I also love your website (it's so informative) and your idea of using the bunny hopper for the oyster shell rations. That would definitely help keep it from being scattered around the ground.

Thank you again!! Much appreciated!
I'll follow up and let you know what the next few days bring!

 

[starbugs]

I wanted to let you know that my Black Copper Marans hen laid a perfectly normal, hard egg this morning - just like she's back to normal.

So...not sure what that was all about but thank you again for all of your help and advice! I'm sure I'll continue to learn and be amazed at the various chicken antics and scenarios that will come up!

Thanks again!