Soft Shell

[millerchix]

My Delaware produced an egg today that has a shell but it is squishy. Then in another part of the nest was a loose yolk, no shell!?! What does that mean? Her shells are often thin even when being fed oyster shell.

 

[PrairieChickens]

How old are your hens? It's not uncommon for young, inexperienced hens to lay unusual eggs like thin-shelled or shell-less eggs. Ours were laying soft shelled or shell-less eggs quite a bit in the beginning, even with oyster shell, but now they've gotten much better.

 

[millerchix]

They are a year old. The Delaware is the only one having issues.

 

[PrairieChickens]

Well, she may just be having an off day. I wouldn't worry unless this becomes a regular thing. If you're providing your hens with ample calcium and they're still laying soft-shelled or shell-less eggs on a regular basis, then it might be time to look into more serious problems that might be causing it. It may well be that there is nothing that can be done to fix it, and you will have to decide whether to keep a hen that can't lay well or find some other use for her. I wouldn't resort to eating or rehoming her until I knew for sure that her laying days were over, though. It could be something as simple as the shift in the weather throwing her internal workings off.