Soft shelled eggs on the poop board.

[Peg J]

I have been getting eggs dropped on the poop board in the morning with super soft shells. It has happened four times in the past 3 weeks. Does anyone know why this is happening? I have five laying hens and getting 3 -4 normal eggs a day. I believe it's just one hen dropping these soft eggs but can't figure out which hen or why. HELP!

 

[MageofMist]

I have been getting eggs dropped on the poop board in the morning with super soft shells. It has happened four times in the past 3 weeks. Does anyone know why this is happening? I have five laying hens and getting 3 -4 normal eggs a day. I believe it's just one hen dropping these soft eggs but can't figure out which hen or why. HELP!

Have you been giving them oyster shell grit in a separate bowl along with their regular feed? And what are the ages of the hens?

 

[aart]

I have been getting eggs dropped on the poop board in the morning with super soft shells. It has happened four times in the past 3 weeks. Does anyone know why this is happening? I have five laying hens and getting 3 -4 normal eggs a day. I believe it's just one hen dropping these soft eggs but can't figure out which hen or why. HELP!

Welcome to BYC @pegj !

Yes...How old are these birds?
What and how exactly are you feeding?

 

[Peg J]

Welcome to BYC @pegj !

Yes...How old are these birds?
What and how exactly are you feeding?

This is the third year I have had the girls. I have it narrowed down to two birds. They get fed organic layer feed, occasional fresh veggies/fruit and are free ranged during the day. Clara was broody for several weeks and then I started seeing these soft shelled eggs on the poop board and now in the nesting box. They do have oyster shell and grit separate.

 

[aart]

Could just be start up glitches.
When they first come into lay as pullets, then when they stop laying prior to molt and come back into lay after molt or being broody weird eggs can happen.

 

[Bodhisan]

As an FYI, this just happened to one of our approx. 10-month old Easter Eggers. She was the first to begin laying in late January, all of her eggs being "perfect" and big, and then she didn't lay two days in a row (skipping a day about every 6-7 days has been avg. for her), and I went into the coop to see if maybe she laid them somewhere else, and I found one cracked soft-shelled egg on the poop board, and another soft-shelled, uncracked, also on the poop board - looked like an old, deflating balloon. Next day (yesterday), she laid just fine. So, I can only speculate. The food, calcium, and snacks seem to be appropriate. She is, however, the most skittish of the three hens, so maybe something had spooked her that I'm unaware of. At any rate, just keeping this thread alive with my experience.