Soft shelled eggs daily

[Chick_Crazy]

Hello! I have a hen who has been laying soft shelled eggs for awhile now, but since recent she has been laying them everyday. What I notice is, that she is fine in the morning once I let the flock out, but when evening comes, she slows down...she goes to bed, then passes the egg. The next morning she is fine again! While this is good that she is passing them, I worry that there could be a problem at some point. After doing research on this, I would like to say lack of calcium. And that may be so, but I tried giving my hens oyster shells in their food, and they just picked around them. Rn I am giving her a calcium tablet everyday, just to give her boost. I just don't want there to be a problem later on, as I recently lost a hen to egg bound. If you have any info on how I can get this hen back to normal, I would greatly appreciate it!



Also, she is a 4yr old ISA brown. And she used to lay massive hard shelled eggs!

Also also () once the egg comes out her butt, she immediately turns around and eats it

 

[icy_flames]

I just had this happen last month with my Australorp. She laid 4 soft shells within 36 hours and supplement calcium pills were not working. She also had the same activity level when evening came around; lethargic, wouldn't eat much, just not herself. I helped pull out 2 soft shells from her bum when I saw her straining in the run, one she passed roosting, and the last egg vet pulled out.

I took her to the vet after she laid #3 from the roost. She was prescribed anti inflammatory and antibiotics for 10 days. And an implant put in to stop laying for 6 months. Pretty much a "birdie birth control". Two weeks to kick in. Now no more eggs...for a while!

Going through a molt right now but is she is doing soooo much better! And I firmly believe when I took her in even with all the poking and prodding my girl understood we were helping her. She is extra cuddly with me now

I'd highly suggest taking her to a vet. You never know what's going on up there. My girl did not take a break over winter and her body just would not stop cranking them out. I seriously think she could have died if I didnt take her.

 

[Chick_Crazy]

I just had this happen last month with my Australorp. She laid 4 soft shells within 36 hours and supplement calcium pills were not working. She also had the same activity level when evening came around; lethargic, wouldn't eat much, just not herself. I helped pull out 2 soft shells from her bum when I saw her straining in the run, one she passed roosting, and the last egg vet pulled out.

I took her to the vet after she laid #3 from the roost. She was prescribed anti inflammatory and antibiotics for 10 days. And an implant put in to stop laying for 6 months. Pretty much a "birdie birth control". Two weeks to kick in. Now no more eggs...for a while!

Going through a molt right now but is she is doing soooo much better! And I firmly believe when I took her in even with all the poking and prodding my girl understood we were helping her. She is extra cuddly with me now

I'd highly suggest taking her to a vet. You never know what's going on up there. My girl did not take a break over winter and her body just would not stop cranking them out. I seriously think she could have died if I didnt take her.

So, with my hen, when evening comes, she just acts slow. Not her crazy enterjenic self. But she does keep up with the rest of the flock. Eating and drinking...scratching. Just slower than usual. Not hunched over, or acting egg-bound.

It's been so long since I have seen a hard shelled egg from her, I just wonder if at this point, will she just be good at laying soft. I'm going to try and give her egg shells, as I know that hens love anything egg related! Can you overdose on calcium? Glad your hen is doing better! Thank you for your suggestions!

 

[U_Stormcrow]

ISA Brown is a production layer - they are famed for reproductive problems after their first few years of life.

Yes, you can OD a chicken on calcium, though dosage is VERY high, or you can do it progressively with high dose calcium over a long period.

Several other chemicals are involved in hard eggshells - phosphorus and selenium are both needed in most biological processes involving calcium.
Have you asked in the Injury/Illness forum? I am NOT an expert in that area, and only infrequently comment there, but BYC has some very well qualified and helpful posters in that section.

 

[Big Doggie]

Hello! I have a hen who has been laying soft shelled eggs for awhile now, but since recent she has been laying them everyday. What I notice is, that she is fine in the morning once I let the flock out, but when evening comes, she slows down...she goes to bed, then passes the egg. The next morning she is fine again! While this is good that she is passing them, I worry that there could be a problem at some point. After doing research on this, I would like to say lack of calcium. And that may be so, but I tried giving my hens oyster shells in their food, and they just picked around them. Rn I am giving her a calcium tablet everyday, just to give her boost. I just don't want there to be a problem later on, as I recently lost a hen to egg bound. If you have any info on how I can get this hen back to normal, I would greatly appreciate it!



Also, she is a 4yr old ISA brown. And she used to lay massive hard shelled eggs!

Also also () once the egg comes out her butt, she immediately turns around and eats it

I've got one Golden Comet who doesn't make a shell. All the other hens are fine and shells are good and strong. I can't comment on her behavior because all my hens look identical and I'm not sure which one is laying the shell-less egg. If I can identify which one it is, can i find a cure? Is there a cure?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Rn I am giving her a calcium tablet everyday, just to give her boost.

If I can identify which one it is, can i find a cure? Is there a cure?

Not a cure, but an alternate treatment if the bird isn't ingesting enough calcium on their own and calcium tablets aren't your preference (though in some cases if a bigger calcium boost is required, so tablets are the way to go if that's the case):

If you know exactly which bird is the problem bird, isolate her for a private breakfast. 2-3x a week serve a small bowl (like 1 Tbsp is fine) of wet or fermented feed with oyster shell mixed in. If she does not like chunks of oyster shell, crush it up or use the powdery remnants from bottom of the bag. Should only take her minutes to eat and after that she's free to go.

Assuming her issue is simply insufficient calcium intake, you should see results in a week or two, and you can try reducing it to 1-2x a week and should hopefully continue getting good results

 

[Chick_Crazy]

Not a cure, but an alternate treatment if the bird isn't ingesting enough calcium on their own and calcium tablets aren't your preference (though in some cases if a bigger calcium boost is required, so tablets are the way to go if that's the case):

If you know exactly which bird is the problem bird, isolate her for a private breakfast. 2-3x a week serve a small bowl (like 1 Tbsp is fine) of wet or fermented feed with oyster shell mixed in. If she does not like chunks of oyster shell, crush it up or use the powdery remnants from bottom of the bag. Should only take her minutes to eat and after that she's free to go.

Assuming her issue is simply insufficient calcium intake, you should see results in a week or two, and you can try reducing it to 1-2x a week and should hopefully continue getting good results

Ok! That sounds like a great idea! I think I might try that. Thank you!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Have you dewormed her recently? If she's dealing with any internal parasites, they can deplete her of vital nutrients and minerals needed for properly shelling an egg. If you have a vet nearby, you can have them run a fecal float to determine which parasite, if any, you need to treat for. Otherwise, a general dewormer that treats for most of the usual suspects, like Valbazen (which is my top choice) or safeguard would be a good choice in my opinion. Another thing that's helped here is keeping a bowl with oyster shell and crushed egg shells in an area the birds frequently hang out.

 

[Chick_Crazy]

I've got one Golden Comet who doesn't make a shell. All the other hens are fine and shells are good and strong. I can't comment on her behavior because all my hens look identical and I'm not sure which one is laying the shell-less egg. If I can identify which one it is, can i find a cure? Is there a cure?

A friend of mine is having the same issue rn. A soft shelled egg basically everyday. But they don't know who it is.

Have you dewormed her recently? If she's dealing with any internal parasites, they can deplete her of vital nutrients and minerals needed for properly shelling an egg. If you have a vet nearby, you can have them run a fecal float to determine which parasite, if any, you need to treat for. Otherwise, a general dewormer that treats for most of the usual suspects, like Valblazen (which is my top choice) or safeguard would be a good choice in my opinion. Another thing that's helped here is keeping a bowl with oyster shell and crushed egg shells in an area the birds frequently hang out.

My birds do have some sort of worm. I have been trying to get rid of it for the past month, and it seems like it has gone down. I first noticed little yellow larvae in their poop. After doing some research, I think they have a tapeworm... But I'm not positive. I have been giving them DE in their food, and garlic in their water. And like I said, it has gone down. But I think they still kinda have it. But I don't think the natural alternative is working that well. So, I might just have to buy a dewormer. Thanks for your reply!

 

[HeatherKellyB]

Thread 'Treating Tapeworms - Under Construction' https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/treating-tapeworms-under-construction.1220309/

Personally, I stay away from DE. Some people swear by it but science doesn't back it. It's dangerous for anything with lungs, including humans. You'll find some good information in the thread ^^^ I've shared a link to. Please let us know if her shell problems persist after getting rid of the tapes. I'll tag one of our resident parasite experts (among many other topics of course) @dawg53

I wish you the very best with your hen. It's nerve wracking when you've got a hen that's laying shelless or soft shelled eggs. I have one that had this problem for a while. I tried so many things with her but still had to keep up with treatments until she started molting. Since she resumed laying, her shells have been gorgeous. Sometimes I wonder if they need a "system reboot" (I'm kidding about the wording) which a molt or like mentioned above, an implant will do.