Soft eggs??

[cconroy]

Our girls have been laying for about a week. All 5 are laying. The last to start laying gave us a wonky egg a few days ago- super small and not a perfectly smooth shell, there was a big ol bump on the side.we think it’s her because she had an injury and I think it effected egg laying. Not sure if it’s the same chicken, but one has been laying randomly in the middle of the night in the middle of the coop. I have NO idea who it is. This morning I went to let the girls out of their coop and in the middle of the coop there was an egg. I went to grab it and thought I was touching chicken poop, but then I realized it was the egg! It’s so bizarre! I have read soft shell eggs can be caused by calcium deficiency, stress, etc. All the girls are seemingly healthy, acting normal and have access to food and water. We started giving them egg shells once they started laying.

Anyways, could this be because they are still really young? They are only about 5 months old. We have Cinnamon Queens if that make a difference.

Thanks!

 

[aart]

Anyways, could this be because they are still really young?

Yes.
There are often glitches when they first start.
I wouldn't worry unless it continues.

What all and how exactly are you feeding?

 

[cconroy]

If I’m being honest, my husband got all the feed and everything. I know it’s later pellets but couldn’t tell you the brand. We had a self feeder and waterer hanging on their coop, so access at all times.

 

[aart]

If I’m being honest, my husband got all the feed and everything. I know it’s later pellets but couldn’t tell you the brand. We had a self feeder and waterer hanging on their coop, so access at all times.

Hopefully the feed bag is still around, so you can learn the brand/model and more importantly read the nutrition tag sewn into the bottom of the bag that will list the protein and calcium percentages as well as other things.

Are you feeding anything else, like 'treats'?

 

[cconroy]

Hopefully the feed bag is still around, so you can learn the brand/model and more importantly read the nutrition tag sewn into the bottom of the bag that will list the protein and calcium percentages as well as other things.

Are you feeding anything else, like 'treats'?

I know the receipt is somewhere! I’ll look. I just grabbed some oyster shells this morning as well.

We let them in our backyard and they get the bugs and grass and hang around the bird feeder. We give them scratch grain and fruit and veggie scraps if we have any- but it isn’t every day they get the scraps from the house.

 

[aart]

I know the receipt is somewhere! I’ll look.

It's not the receipt from the store, it's the tag attached to the feed bag.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Layer pellets should have between 3.5% and 4.5% calcium. If that is all they eat then it should be plenty of calcium. If they forage for a lot of their food or you feed them low calcium treats it might not be enough calcium. I like to offer oyster shell on the side. If they need the calcium then they should eat enough. If they don't need the extra calcium they usually don't eat many oyster shells.

I see you are feeding the eggshells back to them. That might be enough calcium, along with what they are getting elsewhere. That is enough for many people. Some people don't even need that much.

I copied a nutrition label so you can see what they look like. They are not always a tag sewn onto the bag, many are printed on the bag.

When pullets first start to lay it is not that strange for you to get weird eggs. They may be soft-shelled, thin-shelled, no yolk, no whites, really small, really hard-shelled, really large (usually a double yolked egg), or just weird in some other way. There are a lot off parts in the egg laying process , it is amazing how many get all those parts correct to start with.

Part of that process is not just putting the egg together but when and where to lay it. Again, most get it right and find a nest from the start but sometimes eggs can be dropped at night from the roost or when they are just walking around. Usually these issues are cleared up fairly fast but if it goes on for more than two weeks with the same pullet get back to us and we can discuss it further.