Old hen laying soft shell eggs while roosting at night

[eikome]

How common is it for an older hen (6 y/o) to occasionally start laying soft shelled eggs on the roost at night?

I mistakingly thought the few soft shells I've been finding up on the poop boards were from my 21-week old pullets just beginning to lay. But I caught it on camera last night and it's one of my old hens. The worst part is that now she's started eating the soft eggs. Not a habit I want the other hens to learn.

Could the soft eggs be a sign of illness? Or just a hen getting older. None of my hens have ever had a recurring issue with soft eggs in the past, so this is new territory for me.

The flock all get layer feed and also have free choice oyster shell available.

 

[Anon112]

There are quite a few threads about soft shelled eggs, and many recommend a short course of calcium tablets. It could also that with her age she's beginning to have a reproductive tract issue.

Is she otherwise healthy?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Older birds are more likely to have laying and egg quality issues, so her system may not be processing calcium as well as it used to. You can try supplementing calcium citrate tablets directly to see if that helps with the shells (which should also help her not drop them at night). If she still lays frequently I'd do a daily dose, if less frequently (like 3x a week) then maybe every other day, and try that for a week and see if it makes a difference.

 

[eikome]

There are quite a few threads about soft shelled eggs, and many recommend a short course of calcium tablets. It could also that with her age she's beginning to have a reproductive tract issue.

Is she otherwise healthy?

Yes, otherwise a very healthy hen. I'll try supplementing. Thanks!

 

[Anon112]

Yes, otherwise a very healthy hen. I'll try supplementing. Thanks!

I hope you see some improvement!

I have three hens who are about 5-6 years old, and soft-shelled eggs seem to come in waves with them. At this point they don't lay frequently enough for me to always figure out exactly who it is.

My one regret is that earlier this summer one of them laid a lash egg/lash material. At the time I didn't realize it could be a sign of a more serious issue. I don't know who laid it and they are all behaving normal (for them). But knowing what I know now, I wish I'd done more to figure out which gal it was to monitor her more closely for any other signs of infection.

 

[ChickenLover1008848]

How common is it for an older hen (6 y/o) to occasionally start laying soft shelled eggs on the roost at night?

I mistakingly thought the few soft shells I've been finding up on the poop boards were from my 21-week old pullets just beginning to lay. But I caught it on camera last night and it's one of my old hens. The worst part is that now she's started eating the soft eggs. Not a habit I want the other hens to learn.

Could the soft eggs be a sign of illness? Or just a hen getting older. None of my hens have ever had a recurring issue with soft eggs in the past, so this is new territory for me.

The flock all get layer feed and also have free choice oyster shell available.

This is probably not the case but from my experience when my hens starting having egg issues is when they got reproductive cancer they didn't have any other symptoms accept egg issues and very slight different behavior, also becoming uncomfortable when being picked up (unlike before). There both 6 years old one diagnosed w cancer at 2yrs other one 4/5 years old. They get monthly injections to stop egg production I believe it helps with pain and cancer as well. This might not be the case for you but it's something I'd look into with older hens, especially if there a high egg laying or heavy breed since it's more common. https://poultrydvm.com/condition/ovarian-cancer. if your interested I can tell you what kind of injections they get, Im not sure if many vets however offer it in general/as affordably as there current one does it depends on your area and vet. I can also send over the animal hospital number if you have questions since they are well versed on chickens especially since I've been bringing mine in consistently for a few years.