question about eggs

[Miss Lydia]

I have a Brahma hen that will be 1 yr. in October, she has been laying for a while with no problems, but the last couple times she laid the eggs have been perfect but the feel like water balloons, she gets purina layena and also oyster shell plus meal worms and yogurt etc. What I mean by water balloons is they have a shell but it's very soft with the inside intact. does anyone know what could be causing this problem?

 

[Judy]

Many chickens will lay a soft shelled egg now and then. It will usually straighten itself out. Sounds like what you feed is fine. A couple of weeks ago, I had a hen lay a soft shelled egg every day for about a week, then suddenly they stopped, and now she is fine.

 

[OregonChickenGal]

Yes, it happens to mine every now and then also. It's normal.

 

[Qi Chicken]

Make sure that the oyster shell you are giving them is not mostly powder. They don't like it and it gets to be all powder in no time!

 

[Kittymomma]

Quote:
Agreed. Also I notice mine tend to lay some goofy eggs here and there just before they go into a molt. I wouldn't worry too much about it just yet though, the occasional patch of wierd eggs doesn't always have any reason--or at least no reason I've been able to figure out. As ddawn said, it sounds like you're feeding a good diet so hopefully she'll get back on track soon.

 

[sheila3935]

I give mine oyster shells, but they really love egg shells. So I save the eggs shells crush them up and put them in a bowl for them. They chow on it!

 

[Ohhhdear]

Several days ago one of my hens laid a peewee sized shell-less egg, just the membrane surrounding a very tiny yolk and white. Normally they lay large to jumbo sized eggs!
I think I have 3 or 4 girls who are perhaps a week or so younger than the rest, and their laying mechanisms are still working out the kinks. I get a couple ginormous double-yolkers, then perhaps they skip a day and resume laying. It'll all straighten out.

I have oyster shell calcium in small piles beside their hanging feeder so they can peck at the shells whenever they want. I also air dry and crumble up any eggshells. Check the feed you're using, too; most laying mash or crumbles will already have some portion of calcium carbonate included. I alternate between Kent feed (from the feed mill) and Purina Layena (from TSC). Both have calcium added.