Pale soft egg shells

[Sara Dobson]

One of my chickens and I don't know which one is laying very fragile eggs. The shell breaks when I pick it up.

I thought it may have been a calcium deficiency but the other girls tend to lay eggs with brown hard shells. I have heard this can also be a sign of stress, I can't pin point the problem at the moment but my son said one of the chickens is losing its feathers around its neck. Do you think this is the stressed chicken? Could they be fighting? I have't noticed or heard any fighting. They roam free around the farm from midday until dusk they even follow us to the vineyard so they get plenty of exercise. They happily put themselves away at night in their coop before we are finished in the vineyard and I just need to go out and shut the door. So I don't think they are stressed about being locked up.

It is winter in Australia at the moment could it just be the cold weather? Anything else I should look for?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Make oyster shell available free choice for extra calcium.

A photo of the feather loss around the neck would be helpful. She may be beginning to molt, this can affect egg shell quality as hens usually stop laying during this time.

 

[aart]

Might want to isolate the feather losing bird for a couple days to see if she's the one who is laying thin shells.
I use a crate for this purpose:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...rates-a-good-tool-for-every-chickeneer.72619/