One hen has been laying thin shelled eggs for months!

[swamphiker]

I have a 1.5 year old buff orpington that has been laying only thin-shelled eggs for going on 2 months. The other hens' eggs are normal with nice thick shells. I switched from all flock to laying feed when I first noticed the problem, and they also get crushed oyster shell and I see my problem chicken eating both the feed and the free-choice oyster shells. They get veggie snacks as well as mealworms occasionally. Is there anything else I could be doing to increase her egg quality or should I consider culling her early if this keeps up?

 

[Fallenone05]

Some hens are born with defective shell glands, or she's not absorbing calcium very well. She might always lay thin eggs if either of these are the issue.

It's up to you to cull if you don't want the thin eggs.

 

[Folly's place]

An all flock feed, with separate oyster shell, should be fine anyway, especially if you are feeding lots of veggies.
We have two hens now laying thin shelled eggs, not so good. Last year moving the oyster shell feeder close to the door to outside helped a lot, with the one year old brown Leghorn who had the problem. This summer both she and one of the bantams, also at least two years old, are having fragile egg shells. Their egg production machinery isn't working well...
This can certainly be a cull point, although I haven't reached that decision yet.
Mary

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'd try calcium citrate for a few weeks to see if that "fixes" the issue: If not, you'll know for sure the problem is internal (shell gland, issue absorbing/utilizing calcium) and can decide if you want to keep her or not.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/soft-damaged-eggs.1452762/#post-24179363

https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/soft-damaged-eggs.1452762/#post-24179334