Soft Shell Egg

[ProjectChick]

Hello,

I know that this has been discussed here before, but I have not been able to find any answers. I have one hen out of 6 that is laying a daily egg with a shell so thin that it breaks when laid in the nest. She has been doing this for months now. The rest of the hens all have strong healthy shelled eggs. They have premium layer crumbles and oyster shell always available. They free range when ever possible. I do not know which hen it even is, they all appear healthy and run and move around together without issue. 4 of the hens are not quite 2 and the other 2 are just a year old.
I was wondering if you could tell me if there is some disease or injury or defect that could be causing this? Is there something I could look for to figure out which hen it is? Is there something else I could be doing to help her out? Could she be hiding pain or discomfort?

Thank you for any advice.

 

[Ridgerunner]

With it being that regular and all the other hens laying good eggs and at those ages, it means you have a defective hen. Either her shell gland is not working correctly or she is not processing the calcium she eats. That’s often a genetic defect.

You can try various things to try to get more calcium into her, crush oyster shell and put that powder in with the food, but them you are increasing the calcium the others are eating when they don’t need more calcium. Excess calcium can cause them health problems. It’s a dilemma. When I have a problem I try to determine if I have an individual hen problem or a flock-wide problem so I know how to treat it.

I understand the hens often become pets and people really don’t want to get rid of them. With her laying eggs like that there is a chance one could break inside her and lead to medical problems. If it breaks in the nest it could lead to the other hens becoming egg eaters. It could, not necessarily that it will. If it breaks in the nest it can foul the other eggs and the undersides of the hens.

In my opinion you can live with it. Things may be fine but you won’t get regular eggs from her. You may be OK with that. You can get rid of her. Not easy if she is a pet. You can isolate her and try feeding her a high-calcium diet to see if that helps. You may need to keep her isolated. You are already offering oyster shell on the side which would have been another recommendation.

You are not in a good spot. I feel for you.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Hello,

I know that this has been discussed here before, but I have not been able to find any answers. I have one hen out of 6 that is laying a daily egg with a shell so thin that it breaks when laid in the nest. She has been doing this for months now. The rest of the hens all have strong healthy shelled eggs. They have premium layer crumbles and oyster shell always available. They free range when ever possible. I do not know which hen it even is, they all appear healthy and run and move around together without issue. 4 of the hens are not quite 2 and the other 2 are just a year old.
I was wondering if you could tell me if there is some disease or injury or defect that could be causing this? Is there something I could look for to figure out which hen it is? Is there something else I could be doing to help her out? Could she be hiding pain or discomfort?

Thank you for any advice.

Quote: @Ridgerunner has given you good advice.
As suggested you can try upping her calcium intake to see if it helps.

She may be having trouble processing/absorbing the nutrients she needs. Some things you may want to try is giving calcium rich fruits/veggies as treats. Kale was the first thing that comes to mind, my B Rocks will really lay into the kale and they are egg laying machines with strong egg shells. If you can hang some fresh greens in the run for them to snack on that may help. Greens are easiest eaten when they can nip it off, so hanging either by the stalks or put it in a suet basket works well. I feed mine a wet mash most days as a "treat", if I have kale on hand I chop some finely along with some fruit or whatever I have and mix it in. They love it.

You may want to also give her a direct dose of some poultry vitamins every other day or do.
There is also water soluble calcium you can give, but I don't know what the dosage would be, you can usually find that online.

Just my thoughts

List of calcium rich veggies/fruits:
https://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/high-calcium-vegetables.php
https://www.healthaliciousness.com/articles/high-calcium-fruits.php

Egg problems:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

 

[ProjectChick]

They are all definitely loved pets and will be staying with me. I would like to help her, without jeopardizing the rest. Do you have any idea what I could look for to identify which hen it is?

 

[Ridgerunner]

Promise you won’t laugh? Take some food coloring and put it in the vent area in the morning. The egg should have colored streaks on it. Four food colors, do four hens. If that doesn’t do it, try it again with the other hens.

 

[ProjectChick]

LOL maybe I could make my daughter do that! It might be worth a try though.