soft egg

[chicken59]

first year with hens I have 9 chickens and get 7-9 eggs a day yesterday one egg was soft like a balloon can anyone explain this? The only other odd thing was one day a few months back I didnt get any eggs one day Im having a funtastic time raising chickens learning as I go

 

[bobelot]

U Should give them oyster shells

 

[gibsterl]

Sometimes a calcium deficit can be an issue but if you are feeding layer feed that would not be a common problem however offering oyster shell for free choice is a good idea.. Soft eggs are not unusual for new layers from what I understand. I am new to chickens too and I had a couple of soft shell eggs when some of my older girls were molting a month or so back before they began to lay again. Like you am having a fun time with my chickens too!

 

[bobelot]

The egg shells from my chickens were very very hard so that was good but I did drop it and it did break......

 

[browning6]

I have never seen this but studied animal science in college and heard about it then.

At any time there are 3 to 5 eggs forming in the hens reproductive tract. a few things can happen to cause issues. the double yoker eggs are when eggs get too close together and one shell forms around two eggs. In your case the reproductive tract moved the egg through too quickly and the shell never formed on the egg. Take a picture it might be a long time before you see another one.

 

[Den in Penn]

Welcome to BYC.
If the soft eggs continue giving them a source of calcium should help. Oyster shells or feed back egg shells. Having days with out eggs happens with small flocks. Most hens takes a day off once and a while and sometimes they can all take the same day off. Its always a day that gives me a, huh, moment.

 

[debid]

Another cause of soft-shelled eggs can be physical stress to the point that the eggs move through too quickly. I had a hen start laying soft shells even though she was eating layer feed and had calcium available free-choice. It obviously wasn't a calcium deficit. She laid three soft-shelled eggs and then stopped laying and acted withdrawn and puffy so I did some sleuthing. It turned out she had worms and just needed a few days of treatment to get back to herself. So, I vote to keep a close watch because they can decline rapidly.

ETA: Forgot to mention that missing eggs can be a sign of predators stealing from your nests. Snakes, in particular, can steal eggs without leaving a trace that they've visited. A thieving human can empty all of the nests quite efficiently...

 

[brilly]

I found two soft eggs yesterday and they were not in the laying nest but in a new sight. I have one chicken who has an injured leg so I was wondering if it may be her. I have five girls all together in the coop. They get laying mash and scratch and cracked corn. They also get leftover greens and tomatoes which they love. Any ideas about the soft eggs? brilly