Soft Shell Egg question...

[Flappy]

Above is a pic of an egg I found in the coop. It is paper thin. Not sure which girl laid it but it was the first egg for whomever did. Is this normal. Egg was all over inside coop.

 

[moniquem]

Above is a pic of an egg I found in the coop. It is paper thin. Not sure which girl laid it but it was the first egg for whomever did. Is this normal. Egg was all over inside coop.

Yikes! I'm new to the egg laying/chicken keeping game as of this spring. I think soft shell can be normal for first time layers, I'm just not sure how long it continues for....

So yesterday my BR was doing her usual in and out of the nesting box, walking around the yard kind of whinning. Finally I put a fake egg in the box and placed her in it then she laid a normal egg! WTF? So confusing, I guess I'll see what she does today....

 

[aart]

I think soft shell can be normal for first time layers, I'm just not sure how long it continues for....

So yesterday my BR was doing her usual in and out of the nesting box, walking around the yard kind of whinning. Finally I put a fake egg in the box and placed her in it then she laid a normal egg! WTF? So confusing, I guess I'll see what she does today....

It can be normal for new layers, and it can take up to a month or so for things to smooth out. Despite the 'stressless environment' she lives in, laying can be quite stressful, especially for a possibly slightly neurotic bird. Some adjust better than others. Just be patient and don't worry too much.

 

[Flappy]

It can be normal for new layers, and it can take up to a month or so for things to smooth out. Despite the 'stressless environment' she lives in, laying can be quite stressful, especially for a possibly slightly neurotic bird. Some adjust better than others. Just be patient and don't worry too much.

Yesterday there was no egg. I have 5 and am only guessing its my light brahma that laid the soft shell egg. I am assuming it's her because yesterday she went into the coop and sat in a nesting box for about and hour with no egg. I am concerned she is egg bound. She looks fine, seems to be eating. Any advice on this would be great?

 

[Flappy]

It can be normal for new layers, and it can take up to a month or so for things to smooth out. Despite the 'stressless environment' she lives in, laying can be quite stressful, especially for a possibly slightly neurotic bird. Some adjust better than others. Just be patient and don't worry too much.

Forgot to mention that my hens are young and this is first time laying eggs.

 

[Col1948]

My soft egg layer went in the nest yesterday, she was in and out a few times, but no egg, today she went in and I was able to observe her, she did a bit of moving about then as she stood to leave the nest luckily I was able to get there, she had partly tramples on it and just cracked the shell.
I grabbed it quick and I broke it open more and put the egg in a dish and put it in the fridge, I'll have that for breakfast in the morning lol.
The shell though was soft like the one posted in the photo in the post above, paper thin.
Also I got some fake eggs and I had one in the nest box too by the way.

Col.

 

[aart]

I am concerned she is egg bound. She looks fine, seems to be eating. Any advice on this would be great?

If she was egg bound, she'd be acting very ill.
Some bird like to 'lounge' in the nests before and/or after laying an egg,
they may even hang out in there, then leave, then come back later to lay.
Be patient.

 

[moniquem]

Some bird like to 'lounge' in the nests before and/or after laying an egg,
they may even hang out in there, then leave, then come back later to lay.
Be patient.

That is good to know, I thought her going in and out of the nest was a sign of stress. Like she really wanted to lay and felt like she was going to but couldn't. I guess I'm just afraid of egg binding, but all else is normal so I'll just let her be then.

FYI: She did lay an egg early yesterday, a normal one, but last night before going to bed she laid a soft one and there was another one under the roosting bar this morning.

 

[moniquem]

Also, someone mentioned feeding a hard boiled egg, shell and all, I'm boiling up a couple now, how often should I do this?

 

[Col1948]

@moniquem, I'm far from an expert but I read they very rarely lay more than one egg a day, something more like a 24 hour gap between lays, so if she laid once it's unlikely she will lay a second time, especially after such a short time, but someone more knowledgeable will correct me there.

Col.