Soft Shell Egg Under Roost 3 Days in a Row

[WA_RN]

Our girls hatched in March 2019. Two of the hens, a barred rock and an Ameracuana, that originally laid fine eggs, have begun to drop rubbery or very, very thin shelled eggs sometimes in the coop at night, sometimes just plop in the yard (they free range). Actually, the Ameracauna has been hit or miss for about a year. The egg pictures attached did not close at the top.

In mid-December 2020, every other night for about a 10 days, the barred rock would attempt to lay but the egg would drop out of her and split. She knew something was wrong, drooping wings, head down, and she would not even lay down. She would just stand in the nest box or on the roost for hours. One time I had her on my lap in a dark room to keep her calm, and plop, she dropped the egg in my lap.

I also feed Scratch and Peck. While I appreciate a lot about S&P, my girls do not eat the fine bits, never have. And though they have oyster shell available, I guess they don't eat enough. So for two weeks now, I have been soaking their feed for about 3 days so that it clumps together. (My plan was to ferment but...) The clumpiness makes it stick together, that way they are less likely to just eat the grains they like and leave the fines.

Another thing that I have done is mix cooked pumpkin into the feed. They really like pumpkin and this technique allows them to get the fines as well.

So, how is this working? The barred rock has not dropped an egg since the change. She also has not laid an egg. All things being equal, I will take that. The Ameracauna is finishing up a very hard molt that began in October, meaning she has not laid either. Two of the hens are laying just fine with stronger shells, and the final one is finishing her molt as well.

I did consider changing their feed, but I will give them a month or so of this new way until I make a change.

Thanks for the feedback and glad to hear things are straightening out for you! I got a total of 5 rubbery eggs 5 days in a row with the 5th being in the nesting box vs under the roost and it was way less rubbery. By day 6 I had 6 strong shelled eggs from my 6 girls and have had no issues since. I decreased the amount of scratch before bed on cold nights -turns out when my husband was putting them away at night he was giving waaaaaay more than I do on cold nights. I also added ACV to their water because I figured it couldn't hurt. For now we seem to be back on track again.

 

[aart]

I also added ACV to their water because I figured it couldn't hurt.

It can, can inhibit calcium uptake....make sure they have plain water available too

 

[rosemarythyme]

So for two weeks now, I have been soaking their feed for about 3 days so that it clumps together. (My plan was to ferment but...) The clumpiness makes it stick together, that way they are less likely to just eat the grains they like and leave the fines.

That is fermenting. And yes it's crucial they eat the fines, because that's where the protein, vitamins, and calcium are, so makes sense you started seeing better results once the birds got a more well rounded diet.