Soft Shell, Double Egg, Floor Egg Mystery

[Bongoline]

All of the sudden my EE has started laying soft shelled eggs on the floor when typically she lays in the nesting box. Yesterday I saw her in the nest like she was laying however when I came back 30 minutes later I found two eggs on the ground laid by her that had been broken open, one had a normal shell, one had a thin shell. Today I found a rubbery shelled egg on the floor of the coop, I didn't see her in the nest but it looked like she was in there (She is my only hen to start laying so far). Over the last month we've found other instances of one egg being laid in the nest and another on the ground which seems broken immediately, and sometimes just a crumpled shell in the coop and not one in the nest I don't know if the other pullets are breaking the eggs or if they are coming out unformed, either way it is pretty heartbreaking!

She has layer feed and access to oyster shells separate from her feed. She is about 5 1/2 months and started laying about a month ago. Does anyone have an idea of why she is laying these bad eggs on the floor? I'm VERY worried the other pullets will get a taste for egg, or she will get a taste for her own eggs. I can't tell if she is laying in the nest and then kicking or using her beak to get them out but the way the nest is set up I think that would be very hard for her or I'd see more evidence of it. Is she doing ok? What can I do to help her? Is this something that should fix itself? We had a rooster until 8 days ago. About 4 or 5 days ago this older pullet who is having laying issues began really antagonizing the other 4 pullets who are 2 months younger than her when it was time to get on the roost bar at night, I haven't observed any bullying or issues during the day.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Are you sure you don't have more than one pullet laying eggs?

Are you seeing the every day - does she lay every day or is it several days in between?

It's very unusual for a pullet or hen to lay 2 eggs in one day.

 

[Bongoline]

Yeah I was blown away. I am absolutely certain it is her laying two eggs as, she is the only bird I have that is laying age and, she is the only bird I have that lays blue eggs.

 

[Bongoline]

Yeah I was blown away. I am absolutely certain it is her laying two eggs as, she is the only bird I have that is laying age and, she is the only bird I have that lays blue eggs.

I am not seeing this everyday. She will lay at irregular intervals. For example she may lay in the early morning for two days in a row than not lay till the evening the next and than take a day off from laying.
She does not lay two eggs at a time every time but it has happened regularly.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I am not seeing this everyday. She will lay at irregular intervals. For example she may lay in the early morning for two days in a row than not lay till the evening the next and than take a day off from laying.
She does not lay two eggs at a time every time but it has happened regularly.

Hopefully it's a glitch that will straighten out since she's a new layer.
Since it's happening at irregular intervals, I would suspect that she may be having a normal egg in the shell gland but is holding on to it too long - the laying of the egg is a natural response, so I don't know of anything you can actually do but keep an eye on her. If you ever notice her acting lethargic, standing around with tail down, etc., then checking to make sure an egg is not stuck would be a good idea.

It won't hurt to look her over for lice/mites and get fecal float to check for worms as well.

You may also find that since the cockerel is gone, this resolves on it's own - sometimes disturbances and stress can also cause some laying issues.

Keep us posted on how she gets a long.

 

[Mamatomany123]

My easter egger did this. She laid a soft shelled egg once then laid 2 eggs from the roost, one was normal but broken and the other was soft shelled. I knew it was her because she was my only layer at the time. She also had to have laid them close together because an hr earlier they weren't there. Since then shes been fine. I've been told when pullets start laying it can sometimes be a little wonky.

 

[Bongoline]

Hopefully it's a glitch that will straighten out since she's a new layer.
Since it's happening at irregular intervals, I would suspect that she may be having a normal egg in the shell gland but is holding on to it too long - the laying of the egg is a natural response, so I don't know of anything you can actually do but keep an eye on her. If you ever notice her acting lethargic, standing around with tail down, etc., then checking to make sure an egg is not stuck would be a good idea.

It won't hurt to look her over for lice/mites and get fecal float to check for worms as well.

You may also find that since the cockerel is gone, this resolves on it's own - sometimes disturbances and stress can also cause some laying issues.

Keep us posted on how she gets a long.

Thanks for the reassuring words and advice. I’m keeping an eye on her, she laid a healthy egg in the box this AM but I had to leave for work before I could check if she laid another. I’ll follow your advice and keep BYC updated with what happens. Hoping it is just some hiccups with getting started laying because beyond this weird laying behavior she seems very healthy and happy.

 

[Bongoline]

Thanks for the reassuring words and advice. I’m keeping an eye on her, she laid a healthy egg in the box this AM but I had to leave for work before I could check if she laid another. I’ll follow your advice and keep BYC updated with what happens. Hoping it is just some hiccups with getting started laying because beyond this weird laying behavior she seems very healthy and happy.

Well this morning when I came to let the girls out I found two soft shelled eggs under where she roosts. It seems when she lays a second egg she is passing it with droppings, or in this case passed both with droppings. I’m not sure why she is egg production overdrive, I should mention she layed a couple double yolkers on days where she didn’t lay twice. I can only hope things even out soon and I’ll check back in when there is a change in the situation.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Well this morning when I came to let the girls out I found two soft shelled eggs under where she roosts. It seems when she lays a second egg she is passing it with droppings, or in this case passed both with droppings. I’m not sure why she is egg production overdrive, I should mention she layed a couple double yolkers on days where she didn’t lay twice. I can only hope things even out soon and I’ll check back in when there is a change in the situation.

I think at this point, I would give her 1/2 Caltrate tablet for 3-4 days to see if that helps.

 

[Frankiegirl]

Well this morning when I came to let the girls out I found two soft shelled eggs under where she roosts. It seems when she lays a second egg she is passing it with droppings, or in this case passed both with droppings. I’m not sure why she is egg production overdrive, I should mention she layed a couple double yolkers on days where she didn’t lay twice. I can only hope things even out soon and I’ll check back in when there is a change in the situation.

Hi there! I have a very similar situation with a 17 week old pearl star leghorn! She just started laying this past weekend and laid a perfect egg at around 7am on Saturday. I know it was her because I was out there when she disappeared to a nesting box to lay. An hour later she disappeared again and laid another perfect, but smaller in the nesting box. For the past couple of days, she has laid soft shelled eggs on the PB that were broken or what looked to be melted open. In other words, the shell was not hard. That has happened now twice. Also, the eggs are very small. Thanks for sharing your story. I know it sounds crazy that a pullet would lay 2 eggs but I too am convinced mine came from one bird. Good luck and look forward to reading updates on this thread.