Paper thin egg under roosting bar

[RaesChicks]

This morning, I found a paper thin egg under the roosting bar. It looked almost as if it had been laid while she was roosting. It was popped open on the floor, and when the hens noticed it they quickly eating it. This is the second time I have found the same colored egg on the floor of the coop instead of a nest. The first time I thought she had sat and laid on the floor. My hens have a container of oyster shell in the run, but I noticed that in the last day or two they have buried it in bedding. Could the thin egg be a consequence of an adequate amount of calcium available? Or should I look deeper for other potential problems?

 

[Loving my girls]

Hi there,
How old is she ?
I used to have a baby maran, she used to lay soft shells overnight on the perches for ages when she was getting started. Occasionally she would sort of walk along and pop an egg, she would carry on regardless. She’s okay now but it took a while for her to see the difference between laying a poop and laying an egg.
It’s concerning that the others like the taste of the raw egg, but if I were you I’d just hope that they don’t make the connection between broken soft shell and the yummy butt nuggets you and I relish. Otherwise you will have a problem on your hands.
Hopefully that will help
Hugz

 

[RaesChicks]

She’s almost a year, but they were late to develop, some of my Easter eggers only started laying a couple months ago.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Raise or relocate the oyster shell so they don't bury it. Mine's elevated at about neck height.

 

[Mrs. K]

Rosemary has good advice, and that would cover any issue, but really, hens don't lay perfect eggs 100% of the time. They have glitches, kind of like people sometime get stomach aches for no real reason. This tends to happen more so, when a bird starts laying for the season, but truthfully can happen at any time.

More than likely, it is just a glitch, and will clear up if you do nothing.

Mrs K

 

[Ridgerunner]

Do you know which hen laid it, where she normally lays, and what her other eggs look like as far as thin or thick shells? Probably not but I'm not afraid to ask silly questions.

How have your eggshells been otherwise? Normal or some thin?

This morning, I found a paper thin egg under the roosting bar. It looked almost as if it had been laid while she was roosting. It was popped open on the floor, and when the hens noticed it they quickly eating it. This is the second time I have found the same colored egg on the floor of the coop instead of a nest.

How long ago was that first egg? Did it also have a thin shell?

The first time I thought she had sat and laid on the floor. My hens have a container of oyster shell in the run, but I noticed that in the last day or two they have buried it in bedding. Could the thin egg be a consequence of an adequate amount of calcium available?

Maybe, but if it is only thin eggshell probably not. I agree you should clean it out and make the oyster shells available to them.

Or should I look deeper for other potential problems?

I see two possible issues here. First, why is she laying from the roost? I've had a few pullets lay their first eggs from the roost when they just start laying. The internal egg making and laying process is fairly complex with a lot of parts. Some pullets have trouble getting everything perfect to start with. You can get some really weird eggs when they start like double yolked, no yolk, only yolk and no whites, thin-shelled, no shell, really thick shells, tiny eggs, misshapen eggs, or other weird things. When and where to lay the eggs can be a mystery to them too. I'm amazed at how many of them get it correct right from the start. If she is dropping her first eggs from the roost she may not have gained control over when to lay the egg.

Sometimes a hen releases two or more yolks in the same day. If they are released really close together you can get a double yolked egg. If they are separated a bit by time you can get two eggs in one day. A hen usually only makes enough shell material for one egg so a second one may be thin-shelled or shell-less. And a second egg that day may mess up her timing of when to lay it.

Sometimes hens just have glitches. For no observable reason something goes wrong. I feel that we all are entitled to an occasional "oops" as long as it is not habit forming. It is when it becomes a habit that it becomes a problem.

A lot of that above could explain a shell-less or soft-shelled egg too. A pullet just starting out, a second egg, or just a glitch. Some hens have internal problems. There is something wrong with the way the shell gland works or they may not process the calcium they eat so it can be used to make shell material. Maybe stress, maybe a predator scare, caused her to drop that egg before she was ready.

Obviously it would help if you knew which one was doing this but that is not often easy to figure out. I had a pullet starting to lay that dropped an egg from the roosts practically every day for two weeks. Once I tried to figure out which one it still took another two weeks and it was pure luck that I managed.

Obviously I don't know what is going on. If laying from the roosts and the thin shell are rare "oops" I'd suggest ignoring it and not worrying about it. If either or both become a habit I'd try to figure out what is going on.

If the other hens are laying eggs with nice shells I do not consider this a flock wide problem. You do not have a flock problem, you have an individual hen problem. I don't treat the entire flock when I have an issue with one hen. Why take a chance on messing them up when they are doing fine?

Good luck!

 

[BonnieBlue]

Hi.

Bringing this back to ask a specific question because I had the same thing happen. Went to clean out the coop and let the girls (2 of them) out and found a paper thin egg, that looked like it had been laid from the roost, broken underneath the roost. I am not sure which one it was. I will probably be able to figure it out by the end of the day, because I journal their laying, and will know by who does and doesn't lay and when.

Both are getting calcium. A mixture of oyster shell and crushed egg shell. One of the treats they get is dried soldier fly larvae which is supposed to have some calcium. Both have been laying eggs with beautiful thick shells. The eggs have been nice size. Both have been laying consistently again after molting for just over a month.

I am thinking this is most likely someone just had a glitch. Nothing to worry about, but keep an eye on.

So after all of that, here is my question. Should I offer supplemental Vit D to help process the calcium? Is that something that is good to do on a regular basis? Or is it something that is generally not needed?

 

[Ridgerunner]

When I have an issue, I want to know if it is an individual hen problem or a flockwide problem. I don't want to treat the entire flock when they are doing well. I'm afraid I'll mess them up. To me, this sounds like it is an individual hen issue.

When something happens, I want to know if it is repetitive or a one-off. If it is a one-off, I consider it a glitch until it repeats. If it repeats then I consider if I want to treat it and how.

To me this looks like a glitch. Of course I'd observe but I would not worry about it unless it repeats.

I'm not an expert on how much Vitamin D they need or how much would be too much. If you want to give them Vitamin D you can, either both or that one if you can identify her. I would not, at least yet. And I have no idea how much to give or how to give it.