Soft shelled eggs?

[MrsAngell]

My girls have layed a number of soft shelled eggs. The eggs are always under the roost so I'm assuming they are doing it in their sleep? We've tried crushed oyster shells as well as crushing their own egg shells. But they are still doing it. I don't know if it's one chicken or more then one... I find two soft shells eggs under the roost once every 7 to 10 days.
What do I do???

 

[Kelsie2290]

Are your girls young, how many do you have? One or two a week isn't that many, occasional soft or shell-less eggs are usually just a glitch in the egg laying system and they are especially common in new layers or in birds just coming back into lay as as they get into gear. Usually the egg is just moving through the system too fast. It is not necessarily related to a lack of calcium as such, it can be related to the bird's ability to use calcium or a defective shell gland. If it is just one bird doing it continuously, I would be inclined to think it is a problem specific to her, and probably not diet/ disease/ disturbances. There is a list of causes on The Poultry Site ... http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...ndbook/16/thinshelled-eggs-and-shellless-eggs

 

[MrsAngell]

We have 6 hens and they are not even a year old yet. I was told by a friend it was normal but I still wasn't sure how normal.
Thanks!

 

[merriweather]

I just found a soft shelled egg! It is the first one in 14 years of chickens. I don't know who's it is, so I don't know how old the layer is. Could be 1 year, but could be 4 years old. So I don't need to panic?

 

[Kelsie2290]

No, no reason to panic, they are pretty common. Unless you are getting a lot of them or a hen isn't laying anything else they're usually just a glitch in the system.