Soft Shelled Egg

[TexasChickenDance]

At least 4 of our hens are laying. I know for sure who one of them is but not sure who the other 3 are. Three of the hens lay good eggs but the 4th whoever it is has laid 3 soft shelled eggs. Why would 3 lay good eggs and the 4th lay a crap egg. They all free range all day. I'm kinda stumped.

 

[TexasChickenDance]

Also, the one who lays the soft shell lays the egg on the ground and not the nest box.

 

[nanawendy]

They will get the hang of it, give them time to work out the kinks in their egg laying system. Don't forget the oyster shell~ free choice.

 

[gallina man]

i have 6 rsl all laying 2 weeks ago i got a soft egg on the roost then this week 2 soft egg on the roost again then next 2 days eggs are fine i think they are just sorting things out

 

[Deanner03]

I agree with the PP, it'll sort itself out. We had that problem last year when our girls started laying. After a while, they got it taken care of!

 

[TexasChickenDance]

Thanks for the info. That's what I was thinking also.

 

[Princess_Layer]

I just wondered how long it would be before they sort themselves out, we are getting all sorts of wierdness from ours at the moment. The longest one has been laying for about a month the least only a few days.

 

[wisewings]

My alpha RIR hen (3 years old now) started laying soft shell egss after her molt. They tend to drop at night from the roost, as I find them in the "poop pile" in the mornings about 3 times a week. I don't think she will ever go back to regular shell eggs, as I think she might have some internal problem. Every few weeks she just has this horrible "FOWL" odor which goes away the next day, but comes back. She is active, alert with beautiful feathers, esp. after her molt last fall/winter.And she is the queen girl and actually does a good job of keeping everybody happy. Some might say to cull her as she is not laying eatable eggs anymore, but she is a pet also, so what to do? I have started adding cooked and crushed egg shells to their treats (they all have oyster shell available all the time) but with this one hen, I think she is doomed to be a soft shel llayer for the rest of her days. Anybody have any ideas what might be wrong with her, or what to do besides just accepting that she is going to be that way for good now.?

 

[sotelomary]

wisewings...I have a EE that has been laying for about 2 months. She will lay about 3 soft eggs in a row and then will lay one with a firmer shell but not as firm as the others. If you press your thumb on it you will crack it and tell the difference between the other eggs. She is the only one who lays the blue egg which I really wanted. I think she may never develop normal shells but the fact that she sometimes has one alittle harder and firmer than the rubbery kind, gives me hope.

She is also a pet but I'm not that attached to her. I think I will wait a year to see if her eggs improve. If not, I may decide to give her away and try with another. I know, I'm perhaps not a good chicken mom.

Mary

 

[geojane42]

We had one this morning too. It was one of our Hamburgs and I'm pretty sure I know which one. We just picked up the girls on Sunday and it hasn't been very relaxing for them with ongoing coop construction and curious dogs and a cat. One of the Hamburgs has been pretty stressed so I'm pretty sure it was her. The worst is over now though so hopefully she can chill out and focus on laying good eggs now!