Soft eggs below the roost - Update

[ShelleyN]

We just went to let our three, 24-week old chickens out of their coop and found 2 softish shelled eggs on the floor under the roost. One was softer than the other. All three girls have produce an egg per day--in their next boxes--since they started laying 3 weeks or so ago. So I go to open the outside run to the back yard, and find two more eggs in the run from either yesterday or the day before! That's 10 eggs in a 24 hour period from three chickens! Could both the soft ones have come from the same chicken and surprised even her last night?

 

[southerndesert]

We have 6 nest boxes for 15 hens and usually there is no problem, but is someone wants to lay and all the boxes are full which happens every now an then we get a egg on the floor under the nest boxes. Usually they have a sort of rotation and the same girls lay in the same order daily though they do change boxes sometimes.

 

[ShelleyN]

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[ShelleyN]

The BR and SLW just laid an egg each in a nest box.

 

[bawkbawkbawk]

Some people will tell you the soft-shelled eggs are harmless, but for us they were a harbinger of internal laying/egg yolk peritonitis. Keep an eye on whichever hen you determine is laying those in the next few weeks. If she does not return to laying normally or starts to behave differently, she may have a problem. Not trying to alarm you - all might be fine, just sharing our experience.

 

[Tenmore]

I have found 2 very soft eggs on the ladder to the roosts and poop board. Mine are new layers 18 weeks or so. Hope this works it self out for you and me. I dont know who is doing it. It is a light brown egg very thin shelled egg first one appeared to have no whites or yolks just a crumpled up shell. 2nd one was more developed but appearded to be all egg whites. I have GSLs and BSLs so dont know who is doing this and if its more than one. Good Luck to both of us..

 

[Backyard Barb]

Soft shelled eggs can be caused by a number of things. First, young pullets sometimes go into over drive particularly in the spring and lay dud eggs between good eggs. If they are laying at a normal rate and have thin paper like shells it could be lack of calcium/minerals. On the disease side there is egg yolk peritonitis (see above) and egg drop syndrome with is a persistent virus.

Either way, try to keep them from eating the dropped eggs. If they defective eggs are due to disease you run the risk of spreading the infection. If they are just duds, then at best nothing happens, at worst you may end up with a chicken who develops a taste for eating eggs.

All of these things will increase the odds of egg binding so be vigilant and good luck. We have been living with egg drop for 3 years. Its slow to progress, but will eventually turn all our birds into pets.

 

[ojoe]

Quote:
10 eggs from 3 chickens in just 24 hours. man thats got to be some kind of a record.

 

[ShelleyN]

From what I can tell, this hen laid a normal egg yesterday morning in the nest box, and the two softies were laid overnight. There they were on the ground under the roost when my husband went to let them out at 7:00am. They hadn't even climbed down yet. Now that I think about it, her posture was that of laying an egg when we got home at 10:45 last night! I ate one egg this morning for breakfast, it appeared normal in all respects, the other had very little white but a normal yolk. I think she is in hyper speed as she's only been laying a week or so. When you lay 3 eggs in a 12 hour period, I can't see her having enough calcium to support all those shells.

She can't be alone in doubling up either with us regularly emptying the nest boxes and it being such a big deal around here. These are very happy birds. We love on them, they get all sorts of treats, love to cuddle with us under the trees at every opportunity. They are tame, tame, tame, and get full run of a largeish back yard, including some strawberries.

 

[ShelleyN]

Well, Lulu hasn't laid an egg since the 2 soft over-nighters. I figure she'll pick back up tomorrow which will equal if she'd laid them in sequential days. Tune in tomorrow....