Soft shell/egg bound question

[Ryguy3684]

My BO pullets are 9 months old. Generally, they are very consistent layers with good quality shells. They eat flock raiser and always have oyster shell/crushed eggs shells on the side, which they eat quite a bit of. Two weeks ago, Patty was lethargic and wouldn't eat treats or come out of the run. We took her inside and checked her for being egg bound. We gently probed her, with lubricant and a finger, and couldn't feel anything. While she was on my lap, 5 minutes later, she laid a yolk, white, and soft egg shell. Everything was fine after that. We assumed it was a fluke. Tonight, two weeks later, I noticed her acting the same way. We did the exact same thing with the same end result. She's laid perfect eggs all week, including yesterday. Is something wrong with her, that I can fix, or is it a coincidence?

 

[coach723]

It's possible that her shell gland is not working properly every time. Not much you can do for that. Since this seems to be recurring with her now, I'd be inclined to give her a calcium supplement when this happens (not every day, just when it happens). And look at diet. Too many greens, not enough vitamin D, an imbalance in trace minerals, can all cause issues with calcium absorption and shell quality. Since she lays normally sometimes it may not be that, but hard to say. Soft shelled eggs are hard for them to pass, and can make them feel pretty awful. An occasional soft shelled egg or no shelled egg is not a huge worry and is usually just considered a glitch, if it becomes a regular thing then you might need to consider an implant to stop her laying, if she's considered a pet. She's still young so it may work itself out still.

 

[Ryguy3684]

It's possible that her shell gland is not working properly every time. Not much you can do for that. Since this seems to be recurring with her now, I'd be inclined to give her a calcium supplement when this happens (not every day, just when it happens). And look at diet. Too many greens, not enough vitamin D, an imbalance in trace minerals, can all cause issues with calcium absorption and shell quality. Since she lays normally sometimes it may not be that, but hard to say. Soft shelled eggs are hard for them to pass, and can make them feel pretty awful. An occasional soft shelled egg or no shelled egg is not a huge worry and is usually just considered a glitch, if it becomes a regular thing then you might need to consider an implant to stop her laying, if she's considered a pet. She's still young so it may work itself out still.

Thanks. I'll just keep an eye on her and see if it corrects itself. She's my most personable bird, so at least it's easy to tell when something is wrong.

 

[Ryguy3684]

Update. She's laid normal eggs, but also two more soft shelled eggs. At least with these two, she passed them on her own. Is there anything I can give her that might help?

 

[coach723]

Have you given her any calcium? I would give her a calcium citrate +D, or calcium gluconate, once a day for a couple of days, see if it helps.
Here is another thread on soft shelled eggs:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/soft-shelled-eggs.927809/

 

[Ryguy3684]

Have you given her any calcium? I would give her a calcium citrate +D, or calcium gluconate, once a day for a couple of days, see if it helps.
Here is another thread on soft shelled eggs:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/soft-shelled-eggs.927809/

Thanks. I'll try that out and read the thread.