Paper thin egg all of the sudden!!

[Allegra17]

My Easter egger hen is 2.5 years old and has been laying relatively consistently since she was 6 months old. I got her when she was a couple days old so she’s been with me almost her whole life. She’s never had any egg issues. I have crushed oyster shell that they seem to go through extremely slowly (if at all). She got a respiratory virus about a month and a half ago and stopped laying. She has since recovered and is acting all normal. She laid her first egg again maybe 5 days ago. It was normal looking, normal thickness and in the nesting box. The next day, she started laying paper thin eggs. I’m back now and it hasn’t changed. She used to only lay in the nesting box, but I’m finding papery egg shells in random places of the coop. Almost like she lays during her sleep and then steps on it when she’s leaving the sleeping area. It felt the texture and it’s not a normal texture. Nothing in her life has changed recently. What is going on?? She has the same access to her oyster shells that she always has had.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

What is going on??

Sounds like it could be a condition left over from the respiratory thing see this article.. Many respiratory things are never gone completely and only became sub clinical.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/

She used to only lay in the nesting box, but I’m finding papery egg shells in random places of the coop. Almost like she lays during her sleep and then steps on it when she’s leaving the sleeping area. It felt the texture and it’s not a normal texture

Softees feel more like a poop coming than an egg.

She got a respiratory virus about a month and a half ago and stopped laying. She has since recovered and is acting all normal. She laid her first egg again maybe 5 days ago. It was normal looking, normal thickness and in the nesting box. The next day, she started laying paper thin eggs.

Possibly could also just be a new layer hiccup since she is just starting back up??

My Easter egger hen is 2.5 years old and has been laying relatively consistently since she was 6 months old.

So she hasn't molted?

I have crushed oyster shell that they seem to go through extremely slowly (if at all).

When using "layer" feed, it has enough calcium to meet *most* layers needs without added supplementation, hence the slow usage of added oyster shell.. If using a flock raiser or other type feed then active layers go through a lot more of the "side" calcium. Normally this "slow source" calcium oyster shell is best..

But I know @azygous has some faster absorption calcium information for birds that are PERHAPS facing shell gland issues.

 

[Allegra17]

Sounds like it could be a condition left over from the respiratory thing see this article.. Many respiratory things are never gone completely and only became sub clinical.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/common-egg-quality-problems.65923/


Softees feel more like a poop coming than an egg.


Possibly could also just be a new layer hiccup since she is just starting back up??


So she hasn't molted?

When using "layer" feed, it has enough calcium to meet *most* layers needs without added supplementation, hence the slow usage of added oyster shell.. If using a flock raiser or other type feed then active layers go through a lot more of the "side" calcium. Normally this "slow source" calcium oyster shell is best..

But I know @azygous has some faster absorption calcium information for birds that are PERHAPS facing shell gland issues.

Thanks. I’m hoping it’s not a side effect of her respiratory virus. She’s been off antibiotics for over a month now and has been back to acting completely normal other than not laying. I’m curious why her first egg back to laying was a normal one and these ones are super soft.

 

[McChooky]

Thanks. I’m hoping it’s not a side effect of her respiratory virus. She’s been off antibiotics for over a month now and has been back to acting completely normal other than not laying. I’m curious why her first egg back to laying was a normal one and these ones are super soft.

Soft shell eggs are high risk of being broken internally.Make sure she's getting enough calcium daily.

 

[Allegra17]

Soft shell eggs are high risk of being broken internally.Make sure she's getting enough calcium daily.

How do I increase her calcium? I have oyster shells in addition to her normal feed but she doesn’t usually eat the oyster shells. She has never had an issue with soft shells before.

 

[McChooky]

How do I increase her calcium? I have oyster shells in addition to her normal feed but she doesn’t usually eat the oyster shells. She has never had an issue with soft shells before.

I have one that's been sneezing and got 2 soft shells this week.(paper thin but have a shell)

 

[McChooky]

How do I increase her calcium? I have oyster shells in addition to her normal feed but she doesn’t usually eat the oyster shells. She has never had an issue with soft shells before.

It can be a deficiency, lack of sunlight, too many greens or other foods or a health related issue.My hens have crushed egg shells 24/7 so I'm cutting out th eir greens,sunflower seeds (and scratch) Sometimes you have to force them to eat more of their layer feed.I don't free range so its a little easier to control.

 

[azygous]

Get some of this. It's calcium citrate, a form of calcium that absorbs better than oyster shell. Give one tablet per day directly into the beak until you see normal shells. Then you can go back to relying on oyster shell, and just keep this citrate handy in case the shells become a problem again.

 

[McChooky]

Get some of this. It's calcium citrate, a form of calcium that absorbs better than oyster shell. Give one tablet per day directly into the beak until you see normal shells. Then you can go back to relying on oyster shell, and just keep this citrate handy in case the shells become a problem again.View attachment 3090986

Thanks!

 

[Allegra17]

Get some of this. It's calcium citrate, a form of calcium that absorbs better than oyster shell. Give one tablet per day directly into the beak until you see normal shells. Then you can go back to relying on oyster shell, and just keep this citrate handy in case the shells become a problem again.View attachment 3090986

thanks! She finally laid a whole egg In the nesting box today so I was actually able to see how thin the egg was before it was all broken. It had a rough texture, almost like little deposits all over it. Do you think that could mean too much calcium or should I still get this stuff?