Picture of huge thin shelled eggs

[Im Barred up]

I have one hen who lays abnormally large eggs and they have a thin brittle shell to them. My hens have layer feed and oyster shell readily available to them, and it's just one hen in particular who is laying these huge brittle eggs. Any idea on what I can do? Will her eggs return to normal if/when she molts and takes a break? Here's a picture of 2 of her eggs and one of the other hens for comparison

 

[animallover505]

Causes for thin egg shells
Calcium is the primary mineral that makes up eggshells and when not supplied in the diet, the hen does not have the basic materials needed to make the shell. The problem is produced when whole grains or feeds deficient in minerals and vitamins make up the bulk of the laying hen diet. Thin egg shells are observed when calcium, phosphorus and vitamin D3 are not provided in diets at adequate levels. It is more often observed during periods of hot weather because calcium is conserved and retained within the hen's body less efficiently.
The quality of the shells is improved by feeding a complete laying ration as the only diet. This diet supplies all nutrients in the proper proportions so the hen can produce good shells. If thin egg shells becomes a problem, it is advisable to add 2 pounds of oyster shells (as an oyster shell flour or hen-sized oyster shells) to every 100 pounds of complete layer ration.
This will provide a quick remedy to the problem and should restore egg shell quality within a short period of time. After the egg shell quality is restored, the addition of oyster shell can be eliminated and the complete layer diet can then maintain good egg shell formation. It is also advisable to also add a vitamin supplement to the drinking water while the oyster shell is being added to the feed. This will help ensure that calcium and phosphorus in the diet is being properly absorbed through the digestive system and will be available for deposition as shell on the egg.

 

[Im Barred up]

Debating hard if I should put her down....I'm afraid one of these days her egg is going to crumble inside her and possible make a painful death for her

 

[sumi]

Has she always laid eggs like this or is it a recent thing?
If you don't want to put her down you can make her stop laying for awhile and it seems the easiest and healthiest way of doing that is to make her days shorter, i.e. reduce her light hours to about 10 hours a day. Hopefully that will help!

 

[Im Barred up]

I don't know if she's always laid eggs like this. I just adopted 3 last week and wondering if she has something more seriously wrong with her. Debating on if I should (gulp) kill her before I get attached. She's a good bird and hasn't missed a day of laying yet, but of the 7 eggs I've gotten from her, 4 have went into the garbage and the other 3 you don't need to "crack"....just stick your thumb through the brittle shell to open. The egg inside appears good, and we've eaten the one's that haven't been broken. I'm just nervous it's the beginning of a virus where she's an appopted bird....also where I got them from they weren't free range and wondering if maybe she's just eating too much grass?

 

[Im Barred up]

adopted*

 

[animallover505]

I don't really know or any viruses that cause it...

 

[NJchixs]

If you just adopted her, then give her some time. You say she is on layer feed and has oyster shell now, but maybe she wasn't on a proper diet before, and she was lacking the calcium. I'm sure the eggs will get better shortly.

 

[Im Barred up]

I hope so. She hasn't laid an egg today, so hopefully her body will take a day or 2 off and straighten this around.

 

[Texas Granny]

Thinning eggshells usually indicate the bird has an infection.