Rubber Egg Emergency?

[pfost262]

So I just recently had a pecking problem in my 4 hen flock. I removed the injured hen for a few weeks then replaced her into the flock and removed the pecker for a week or so. My hens will be 1 year in a month. So when I replaced the pecker there was some fights and a bit of blood drawn between the once pecked hen and the pecker. The day after, however, I noticed the pecked hen (top of the pecking order) squating in the run and suddenly an egg popped out with no shell!! I couldn't believe it. So i did some quick research and read that this may be normal at the end of the laying cycle. (how do I know when that is?) Anyway TODAY I went into the coop and there was a broken yoke with no shells in the laying box. What steps if any should I take to prevent this? What causes this? I'm very worried.

 

[Lots A Cluckin]

sounds like they are not getting enough calcium...what do you feed them? How much do they get to eat in a days time? if you free feed them (have food out for them 24/7) then you may want to change feeds to a higher % of calcium or add oyster shells to their feed....1 year old hens are not at the end of there laying cycle....hens will lay consistently until after their first molt and then production will only slightly go down...they dont really slow down until they are 3-4 years old

 

[SarahInAlaska]

So I just recently had a pecking problem in my 4 hen flock. I removed the injured hen for a few weeks then replaced her into the flock and removed the pecker for a week or so. My hens will be 1 year in a month. So when I replaced the pecker there was some fights and a bit of blood drawn between the once pecked hen and the pecker. The day after, however, I noticed the pecked hen (top of the pecking order) squating in the run and suddenly an egg popped out with no shell!! I couldn't believe it. So i did some quick research and read that this may be normal at the end of the laying cycle. (how do I know when that is?) Anyway TODAY I went into the coop and there was a broken yoke with no shells in the laying box. What steps if any should I take to prevent this? What causes this? I'm very worried. 

Soft eggs can also be attributed to stress. Stress can cause the premature laying if an egg prior to receiving the hard shell layer. Give the pecked at hen a few days to bounce back from the attack and if she's still laying soft eggs think about adding a calcium source.