Soft shell egg with calcium deposits

The Welch Chickens

Crowing
Premium Feather Member
Mar 18, 2023
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Rhode Island
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šŸ”This soft shell egg was just found on the run floor. It’s a Prairie Bluebell Egger by the looks of it (blue calcium); we have two PB Eggers and they often lay eggs with light calcium deposits.
We already got two eggs from them today, so one hen apparently laid twice.

I’ve gotten one soft shell egg before, but it was not from a PB Egger. It happened a few weeks ago. Here it is:
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They eat layer feed and have a constant supply of oyster shell.

Why did this happen? Should I be worried?
 
What do you feed, including treats?

If you know which hen, then give her extra Calcium for a week to see if the shell quality improves. If it doesn't then she may have a shell gland problem or something else going on.

You can find Calcium Citrate with D3 in the vitamin aisle of stores like Walmart, CVS, etc. Give 1 tablet daily, just pull down on her wattles, pop the tablet into the beak and let her swallow.
 
What do you feed, including treats?
Nutrena Nature-Wise layer feed, and a handful of scratch grains per day to call them in from free-ranging. No treats besides that for the past couple months. The scratch has never caused any problems (no obesity or anything which I check regularly for). The two Prairies are the thinnest in the flock, though.
If you know which hen, then give her extra Calcium for a week to see if the shell quality improves
I don't know exactly which hen, but it can be narrowed down to one of two hens (we have two blue egg layers). I could monitor them to see if one lays a soft shell egg again.

I do know which laid the brown soft shell a few weeks ago, though. It hasn't happened again; her eggs have always been lovely and strong shelled since.
 
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