New Layer

[lkane81]

I have a new layer that her first 3 eggs looked great but then I got a thin shelled egg from her yesterday and a shell less egg today. I switched brands when I went to layer feed a couple weeks ago to a layer crumble but it was like almost dust and had soo much waste that I switched to pellets which they seem to be going through slower but of course way less waste. I also have oyster shell at all time which they don't seem to want to touch. today I fed them scrambled eggs with the shells in but I'm so worried about an egg breaking inside her. I have one two layers out of my 6 chicks so far and one is laying the thin shell. What can I do to up her calcium? should I be worried?

 

[junebuggena]

Shell less eggs are completely normal for new layers, and has absolutely nothing to do with calcium intake. The calcium they use for eggshells comes from their bones. As a new layer, she hasn't laid enough eggs to deplete the calcium stored in her bones yet. They need a calcium supplement to restock their bones, most layer feeds have more than enough, but it will be a few weeks before they really need it.
Usually, it's just a matter of needing more time for all parts of the egg production system to work together on a consistent basis.

 

[Pork Pie]

Shell less eggs are completely normal for new layers, and has absolutely nothing to do with calcium intake. The calcium they use for eggshells comes from their bones. As a new layer, she hasn't laid enough eggs to deplete the calcium stored in her bones yet. They need a calcium supplement to restock their bones, most layer feeds have more than enough, but it will be a few weeks before they really need it.
Usually, it's just a matter of needing more time for all parts of the egg production system to work together on a consistent basis.

Agreed - it can take a while before her egg-laying plumbing starts working properly.

 

[lkane81]

Thank you all I was getting worried about this. I was most worried that she would have one break inside her and I would lose her. This puts me at ease and I will just keep watching.

 

[Patinas]

Mine are beginning to lay and it's a rare day that I don't find a shell less or soft shell egg dropped on the poop trays overnight. I've learned on BYC that is completely normal for new layers.

I've also learned to just relax about it and learned to trust the process and that the better measure of whether or not something is wrong is to watch their everyday behavior. A chicken that suddenly becomes listless is a cause for concern or a chicken that squawks and squats but nothing comes out, again, cause for concern, etc.

Being new to chickens, I too initially thought every egg would come out perfect and I too freaked a bit when I found the first yolk/soft shelled egg. Made me feel like I must be doing something wrong but now, I focus more on their daily behavior so I will hopefully notice subtle changes and be able to be proactive in trying to figure out what's going on.

I think as long as you are providing appropriate feed, water and calcium, everything will sort itself out in the egg laying process.

 

[apryl29]

I have new layers too and keep getting soft shell eggs even though I'm using layer feed and have oyster shells out too. I'm also crushing up the shells from the eggs and mixing those in w/ their feed which I know they're eating. A coworker who had chickens for years said she had only ever gotten a few soft shell/ no shell eggs, but I seem to get them quite a bit, esp after we lost a pullet to a coyote. The other day I got a no shell from an egger, just the membrane around it. Everyone seems healthy and happy so I haven't worried about it too much since they seemed to have recovered from the stress of losing one of their friends. It seems more so now that when I see one it's b/c a new girl has started laying.