Soft shelled egg

[WombatChook]

Hello!

My pullets we got at the end of May started to lay a couple of days ago. We got 2 eggs on Friday; one on Saturday and Sunday; 2 eggs on Monday and Tuesday. They have all been small (compared to my slightly older chookens). Today there was one egg in the nesting box and the other was a soft shelled one on the roost shelf. It feels like a deflating balloon.

They get fed Barastoc "Golden Yolk" pellets, and are supplemented with additional calcium. They have shown no sign of illness.

We did "chooksit" a couple of elderly hens for a week, but my girls seemed to take that in their stride.

What could cause the soft shell?

 

[Tookie]

Most likely because she's a new layer.

 

[New duck mommy 2021]

I don’t have chickens but have ducks who lay
One of my younger girls started to lay about 2 weeks ago
Her eggs are mostly tiny but every 3ish days she lays a huge double yolk
As well as once she laid a soft shell then missed the next day then back to normal
I provide crushed oyster shells out all day but noticed the bowl was empty that evening and maybe she didn’t get as much as needed and it cause her soft shell
Is that what you provide for extra calcium ?

 

[TX Chick Noob]

Several of my pullets laid soft shell eggs the first time or two, usually somewhere on the coop floor or under the roost. It is apparently very common. If it continues more than a few weeks then post again to see if anyone thinks it might be a concern.

 

[WombatChook]

Thank you!

There was another half-soft one (and broken!) on the floor of the roost today, away from the nesting box.

For extra calcium, we have a scratch mix with crushed up oyster shells and I also blitz up old eggshells and make a "shell porridge" with oats (and a little bit of water to bind the shells to the oats) for them, too.

 

[Sussex19]

Its quite usual when pullets first start laying, for there to be a few odd eggs.
It takes a while for them to really settle down, and become regular.

 

[TX Chick Noob]

Don’t mix the oyster shells with scratch. The scratch needs to only be given in small amounts as an occasional treat, and the oyster shell needs to be free choice and available all the time.

 

[WombatChook]

Don’t mix the oyster shells with scratch. The scratch needs to only be given in small amounts as an occasional treat, and the oyster shell needs to be free choice and available all the time.

Thank you! The scratch mix came with the shell already added, but I'll get a separate bag of them for the girls to have whenever they want

 

[WombatChook]

Quick update - after adding powdered calcium supplement to their feed, the chook laying the squishy eggs has now gone the other way and laid a proper one, but with sandpapery calcium deposits all over.

She'll eventually find the right balance!