Soft eggs—not intact

[Heathermbm]

Hello, I keep finding eggs like this in their poop sand box (under the roosts) and this weekend we had to pull remnants of one out of one of the hens vents. Is there a reason for this? She is young and maybe new at laying (I’m not sure which of the younger ladies are laying—haven’t had a full egg days yet). What can I do for her? I do supply oyster shells and none of the other layers are having any issues. Thank you.

 

[Bonkerelli]

Hello, she is not getting enough calcium in her diet. There are a few things you can give her and even the rest of the ladies. You can mix the oyster shells, crushed calcium or powdered egg shells in their food. Cheese and plain yogurt and Dark leafy greens. Some hens are more deficient then others.

 

[aart]

this weekend we had to pull remnants of one out of one of the hens vents.

Is this maybe the only bird that is laying unshelled eggs?
I'd isolate her in a crate and give her a special breakfast like @rosemarythyme does.

Might also sprinkle some OS around on the ground, some birds don't take to it easily, especially if they are new to laying. Mix some crushed egg shell into the OS in the OS dish.
I'd not mix it into their regular feed.

 

[rosemarythyme]

If you know exactly which bird is the problem bird, isolate her for a private breakfast. 2-3x a week serve a small bowl (like 1 Tbsp is fine) of wet or fermented feed with oyster shell mixed in. If she does not like chunks of oyster shell, crush it up or use the powdery remnants from bottom of the bag. Should only take her minutes to eat and after that she's free to go.

Assuming her issue is simply insufficient calcium intake, you should see results in a week or two, and you can try reducing it to 1-2x a week and should hopefully continue getting good results. If you still have the same issue, then you might need to try pills of calcium citrate instead for a faster, bigger calcium boost.