Soft/thin Shelled Eggs Overnight off the Roost

[UrbanHomesteadMama]

Hi All,
I’m a bit worried about my Olive egger. She was egg bound with a soft egg twice in the last couple months to the point where I gave her warm bath and brought her inside. Thankfully both times the rest came out. I added oyster shells in another dish to the coop (it’s in their food too) and cut out treats and after a few day break she laid two normalish eggs- they had lots of calcium deposits on them and weren’t as green but they were hard. Then she started laying eggs overnight or early morning outside the box. They are almost always smashed bc the shells are so thin. If they aren’t they are dinged up and super fragile. We’re going on day5 of this. I’m glad she’s passing then safely but I would like to eat eggs from her again too! Any thoughts? Do you think it’ll work itself out? I’m a little worried she got a bit of damage from all the internal eggs.

 

[azygous]

Knowing her age would be very helpful. I have a ten-year old Wyandotte that insists on laying a shelless egg every so often, but that is age related and not much can be done about improving the quality, though extra calcium may prevent the egg from getting stuck.

Putting oyster shell into the food is not recommended as hens may have different levels of calcium absorption and some could sustain kidney damage over a long period of this overdosing. Better to offer it free choice so each hen can satisfy their own individual needs.

I have a four-year old EE that has egg issues, and I'm always fighting thin shells or no shell eggs. Immediately following finding a smashed egg, she gets a dose of (people) calcium citrate or calcium gluconate at least 400mg plus vitamin D. These forms of calcium absorb easier than calcium carbonate, which is what oyster shell is. Treating only the hen with calcium issues is far more efficient than trying to stuff calcium down every hen in their food.

Usually, one or two daily doses of the people calcium will correct the problem. Once you see the calcium deposits on the shell and the shell is of a proper thickness, you can stop the calcium supplement until the next episode. The calcium treatment is also helpful when a hen becomes egg-bound.

 

[UrbanHomesteadMama]

Knowing her age would be very helpful. I have a ten-year old Wyandotte that insists on laying a shelless egg every so often, but that is age related and not much can be done about improving the quality, though extra calcium may prevent the egg from getting stuck.

Putting oyster shell into the food is not recommended as hens may have different levels of calcium absorption and some could sustain kidney damage over a long period of this overdosing. Better to offer it free choice so each hen can satisfy their own individual needs.

I have a four-year old EE that has egg issues, and I'm always fighting thin shells or no shell eggs. Immediately following finding a smashed egg, she gets a dose of (people) calcium citrate or calcium gluconate at least 400mg plus vitamin D. These forms of calcium absorb easier than calcium carbonate, which is what oyster shell is. Treating only the hen with calcium issues is far more efficient than trying to stuff calcium down every hen in their food.

Usually, one or two daily doses of the people calcium will correct the problem. Once you see the calcium deposits on the shell and the shell is of a proper thickness, you can stop the calcium supplement until the next episode. The calcium treatment is also helpful when a hen becomes egg-bound.

Thanks for the reply! She’s about 10 months old. I just have a second dish with oyster shells in the run so they can free feed when they like although I haven’t seen her show much interest. What supplement do you give yours?

 

[UrbanHomesteadMama]

Thanks for the reply! She’s about 10 months old. I just have a second dish with oyster shells in the run so they can free feed when they like although I haven’t seen her show much interest. What supplement do you give yours?

Whoops! Just saw the dosing! Thanks!

 

[azygous]

There's a chance she'll outgrow this. With young layers, they can have these little problems that may get ironed out after their first molt. Meanwhile, the danger of a shell-less or thin-shell egg getting stuck is real since those are more difficult to pass down the reproductive track.

Keep an eye on her for signs of her going egg bound. She will suddenly change her behavior from talkative to mute, from active to lethargic, and the sign she's in pain is an unmistakable tail held low and flat. Be ready to pop a 400-500mg tablet of calcium citrate or gluconate into her beak. It works wonders along with hydration and a little heat.

This isn't to alarm you it's going to happen that she will get egg bound. It's just that her poor quality shells increases her risk.

 

[UrbanHomesteadMama]

Where do you purchase your calcium supplements? Thank you for all the advice!

 

[azygous]

I just get them at Walmart. They have a "petite" size calcium citrate and it's a perfect size for slipping into a beak.

 

[UrbanHomesteadMama]

Now she’s having normalish eggs with lots of calcium deposits but they are either overnight in the coop floor or in the run the next day. ‍

 

[azygous]

It sounds like there's still an issue. When a hen drops an egg just anywhere or during the night from the perch, she's not "feeling" a regular ovulation cycle. It's my guess that whatever is interrupting her normal laying cycle isn't resolved yet, although the calcium deposits indicate her calcium levels are coming back up.

Calcium and vitamin D3 and other minerals help a hen regulate her cycle and she becomes accustomed to the "feel" of it. I don't think she's there yet. I would continue the calcium for a few more days and watch her.