Shell Less Eggs Every Day! Please Help!

[Mtn Laurel]

It may be the pullets laying the shell less eggs, as shell less eggs are more common in pullets and young layers.
There are a few dewormers available that you can use for your chickens. Some of the best ones as Fenbendazole (safe guard), Ivermectin, Eprinex and Valbazen. All, except the Eprinex has a withdrawal period of 14 days. Do the deworming in 2 stages, give the chickens a dose, wait 10 days and give them another follow up dose to make sure you kill any worms that may have hatched since the first treatment. It's up to you if you want to eat the eggs laid during the withdrawal period, but if you are allergic to any medicines I'd suggest you check with your doctor first. I know Valbazen is used in some African countries to treat worms in humans. Just don't incubate the eggs laid during the withdrawal period. It could have a disastrous effect on the developing chicks.

I used Valbazen as it's my understanding that it treats a broad spectrum of worms, including tapes. Placed it on a small piece of bread and the girls gobbled it down. I treated again in 10 days and withheld eggs for 14 days after the final dose. Have just begun eating their eggs again and - boy - I had sure missed them! Those store bought eggs are NASTY!

 

[JacobMaxwell]

I used Valbazen as it's my understanding that it treats a broad spectrum of worms, including tapes. Placed it on a small piece of bread and the girls gobbled it down. I treated again in 10 days and withheld eggs for 14 days after the final dose. Have just begun eating their eggs again and - boy - I had sure missed them! Those store bought eggs are NASTY!

You can say that again!

 

[HappyHenFarm78]

An egg passing through quickly like that, with no attempt at a shell forming may be egg drop syndrome. It does not show any other symptoms. Did your hen get vaccinated against it? Also how long has she been laying these?

I have read that Egg Drop has not been spread to, nor has the United States and Canada have any recorded incidents of egg drop syndrome. So it is likely not that... I will try worming (again) they were wormed not too long ago....but it can'thurt since I am not getting eggs anyway.

 

[HappyHenFarm78]

Have you checked really well for mites? I thought I was being really good about checking the girls for mites and never saw them. I realized after I felt something crawling on me that I couldn't see. They are impossible to see. Like the smallest speck of pepper is what I heard. I certainly can see that (I thought). Nope! get some reading glasses (even if you don't need them to read) and take a good look. Good luck with your hen.

I'm not the original poster, but I do have an issue with 4 hens I adopted 3 mo. ago that are not laying eggs... I was told by the 'chicken rescue' I got them from that they were a yr old...on the ride home I noticed they appeared healthy but all were sniffly and raspy. (terrific). I didn't want to send them back to somewhere they were cleary not cared well for. The guy had 100+ birds. So, since adopting them I had them on baytril because I wanted to eradicate whatever upper respitory issue they had. They have since got better BUT the silver penciled rock has only laid 2 eggs and none since. The Easter Egger has only laid 3 blue eggs the first mo. since I had her (always torpedo like with a deformed tip) and NONE since...and the black sexlink was laying wonderfully the last 3 months until the past 2 weeks when she just stopped cold turkey and started laying shellless eggs- w/out a membrane even. And now she will sit in the box and come out squawcking with absolutely NOTHING in the box. (no evidence of even a shelless egg- just nothing) Yet she still sits in the box. acts fine, eats fine, dust bathes...etc etc... The 4th one is another easter egger and she lays a superb green egg every day and has all along....and SHE was the sickest one when I got her!!!??....so I'm wondering if these 'rescue' birds are not really a year and a half old....or if they need to be wormed again (I dewormed them when I brought them home). All these hens act fine, except the silver peciled has a limp which I believe she had when we adopted her. (I should have turned right around and brought them back- but I wanted to help them, not put them back in a bad situation).

We actually lost a comet of ours a few days ago(it died) It may be completely unrelated...but she was acting slow. I felt her and under her vent I heard crackling and felt what seemed like crunchy shell,...Igave her some baytril antibiotic and sat her in a tub and also tried to feel internally for the the source of 'crunching' but nothing, she used to lay every day but for almost a week nothing- she ended up dying that night. So I am unsure if related- likely not??

I have found some of my birds to have mites...Mainly in the puffy headed birds. I have even cut off their beautiful wig feathers bathed them and powdered their heads. I change their woodchip bedding regularly and dust the floor and bedding and their favorite dust bathing spots with this garden and poultry dust that's supposed to kill mites and lice, etc I have Ivermec spot on that I want to put on them...BUT how long will that work? it's apparent that there are loads of mites in the environment- I moved here 6 months ago and never had a problem at my old place (same coop and same birds!). If its an infestation in the environment, how often will I have to apply the ivomec to keep them mite free? and I'm guessing I can't use eggs for at least 10 days....if that's true do I put it on once a month and toss 10 days worth of eggs every month??? Not sure what to do (I do sell eggs to neighbors and family). Not sure if Ivermec will kill ALL the intestinal worms so I will also fenbendazole them all - can I Iveemec at the same time? Wish I could just frontline them like I do the dogs and call them good for a month... LOL They free range on 1 acre, we have woods on 3 sides, and the woods are fenced off but they can still be along the woods...

Advice? see if worming and demiting helps? how often should I Ivermec since the dusting powder doesn't seem to be working? Also, am thinking of switching feed back to Layeena...I have been feeding Blue Seal since winter becauseit is a bit cheaper and I was buying so much feed, and wanted to save $ to put towards bedding and medications...

Thank you!

 

[birdmomma]

I too have been having similar issues with my 2 year old BR's - out of the 7, at least 3 are laying soft shelled and shell-less eggs. Was thinking it was the organic feed I was giving them - they were eating the larger grains & stuff. and ignoring the powdery minerals in the mix. I switched them to pellets from the feed store and I haven't seen the results I was hoping for, so now I'm wondering if it could be because of worms as well. Sorry that I'm not alone in this problem...seems to be a larger problem.

I know I should start another thread for this question, but here it is - I have a miniature poodle who has the nasty habit of eating the girls poops as they range the yard - when I worm the girls, should I keep him away for those 14 or so days? (a pain, since he has a dog door for unlimited access to the outside.)

 

[muscovylove]

Jumping in on this thread- I have a 2 year old Naked Neck. About 3 months ago, the same time I had a pullet with botulism (followed advice from a fellow Backyard chickens member plus the thread that is posted under emergency care and she recovered fully) my best layer started laying eggs that had a weird second egg inside, then rubber eggs- then nothing.
She was lethargic, eyes closed, etc- and I assumed internal laying or infection and started her on tetracycline and did epsom salt baths for her daily. Also increased her calcium carbonate level.
She seemed to recover from being sick- but the laying hasn't improved.
About once a week she lays a shell less egg, yolk and white followed by membrane, followed by tiny wrinkled shell. She was standing and straining to lay an egg last week- out plopped a yolk/white followed by a wrinkled shell with some calcium shell on it.

How the heck do you diagnose egg issues? I suppose she might just be "done" with laying? The feed store guys, all poultry owners thought that was probably the case, as she wasn't clearly sick- no sign of IB. No sign of worms, or respiratory issues, and since I have 9 hens and 7 ducks in one LARGE coop at night- they'd spread things around for sure.

I'm feeding her human grade calcium carbonate/vitamin D supplement daily with some treats, yogurt, scrambled eggs- but she eats/drinks as well as the others.
I do notice that she loves sunbathing way more than the others, just flops out dead looking and shuts her eyes for about 10 minutes at a time.

Just my story- but if anyone has any thoughts- jump in! JacobMaxwell- keep us posted on your hen!

 

[JacobMaxwell]

Update: Luckily, I haven't gotten anymore shelless eggs. I'm still a little worried though because she does show those syptoms every so often. They are exactly the same as what muscovylove described, lethergy falling asleep outside. Because this has been going on so long, I'm starting to think that it might just be the way she is. Do hens usually live for weeks on end with egg drop syndrome or worms?

 

[muscovylove]

I don't know where you are at, but EDS sounds almost nonexistent in the states, and from my understanding the hens don't look/act sick. I have ducks so I thought it was a possibility since ducks spread it to chickens, but the extension service for Oregon State said most likely no.
So today my naked neck laid her first egg in 2 months, complete, but in a soft shell. I gave her an Epsom salt bath, and she laid it in the tub, standing up.
I'm wondering about vitamin D, and if she is deficient. I've been giving her human grade calcium carbonate/vitamin d for 2 weeks, if she starts laying better eggs I'll think it's that. Do you feel comfortable giving her warm baths when she seems lethargic?

 

[JacobMaxwell]

I'd be fine with giving her baths, But I'd like to know the theory behind this. Why is it supposed to help?

 

[muscovylove]

It relaxes them, much like warm baths helps a laboring woman. I have a Lakenvelder, she's tiny, and her 1st year laying she was egg bound several times. She'd lay about 20 minutes after I'd get her out of the bath.
The Epsom draws out, I've used Epsom salt crop flushes, and it forces out whatever is in their gut/crop. Especially if the bird gets into toxins.
As a bath, it draws down the egg, I think. Also, I was concerned that my hen had a little infection from yolks going into the abdomen, so it would help to draw out the infection as well. In my own family I've used Epsom salt poultices and soaks for sore muscles, bug bites, and some cysts I get on my wrist from time to time.