Soft eggs

[beautifulchaos]

We have 5 quail. 2 that came from iffy conditions and 3 that were well cared for. (One had bumblefoot and they were both bald on their backs and head and their feet were beat up) Our two original girls had laid 1 good egg and a few soft ones before we tried to integrate. Integration didn't work out so they are separated again. Out new trio is doing well. We get 1-3 eggs from them.
The other two have big spaces in their laying pattern (I am not even sure they are both laying) and the eggs are basically just membrane. Here is a picture for comparison

I know this is usually a calcium issue but we are giving lots of oyster shell, probiotic/electrolyte mixin the water, gamebird feed (with a bit a bit of chick starter this week)..could there be something wrong with them?

 

[sourland]

You don't say how long you have had them. They may still be recovering from conditions at their previous home.

 

[beautifulchaos]

We have had them almost a month. I know stress can cease laying but does it cause soft shells?

 

[lomine]

Stress can cause a lot of issues. The move, integration, and then separation could have thrown them off. They may also still be building up their strength/health from their last home. If they looked bad on the outside chances are they weren't getting what they needed nutritionally either. Given all they have been through a month it's so long.

Is the oyster shell ground up? I found that my quail would only take the very smallest pieces of oyster shell and they weren't getting enough calcium. I switched to ground up egg shell instead and it worked much better for them.

Do you know how old they are? If they are very young and just started laying that might be a reason they aren't laying consistently. Or perhaps they are old and have reached the end of their laying.

I suggest you not mix any chick starter in their feed. I'd stick with just game bird feed. The electrolytes are good so keep that up. If you haven't already, give them something in their cage to hide under or behind. It will help with the stress. As long as they are eating, drinking, and look to be improving I would just give them more time.

 

[EEBLACKCOPPERMARAN]

If you do have chickens you could also cook the chicken shells and crumble them up and feed it to them. Stress could also cause the problem. If you have some cockerels you could try to separate them.Cockerels could add a lot more stress then they need. When I got my birds their backs and heads were almost bare.