soft top eggs

[chicksooner]

I have a hen that lays a normal shape, size, color egg except the top is rough, porous, and very thin. Pic from the phone so not good quality.

I am only having this issue with one hen. They are on layena and/or flock raiser and have oyster shell free choice. The also free range quite a bit and get scratch in the evening. The shells are all good and thick. This one is my puzzle.

The top is usually cracked from laying fall or being stepped on.

 

[chicksooner]

The top is not really soft but very thin and cracks easy. Soft was the wrong word to describe. Any ideas?

 

[sumi]

How old is she and how long has she been laying? How long has she been laying eggs like this?

 

[chicksooner]

Over a year old and she has been laying since last fall. she has been giving me these eggs for several weeks. I kept thinking she had a glitch and she would work it out. Her eggs also tend to be more long and skinny. External parasites are controlled. Food is good, I have not wormed. The only thing I can think of that changed is her rooster. Oh and they had been getting ACV in their water but I stopped that when she started having shell issue because I thought I had read it can prevent calcium absorption. Last night I was reading on shell issues and read somewhere that ACV can help with calcium absorption.

 

[sumi]

ACV does help them absorb nutrients. My hens have actually been laying better since I started using ACV.

You've probably seen there are a few factors that influence egg shell quality. In a nutshell it's diet, stress, disease and the hen's age. She's eating well and she's young and it sounds like she's healthy. So that leaves stress and possibly egg shell gland problems. What's changed with the rooster and did this coincide with the soft eggs?

 

[chicksooner]

I had thought about stress but wouldn't that affect the whole egg? The new rooster is a big baby and lets the girls boss him around. I need to go check the roosting bar to see where everyone is at on it. I looked in a few weeks ago and had a lonely lady all by her self at one end. Now wondering if she is the funky egg layer.

 

[sumi]

Stress can have all sorts of effects on eggs, from loss of pigmentation to odd shapes. A change in flock dynamics (like replacing a roo) can be stressful for the hens.

 

[chicksooner]

Thanks for helping me talk it out Sumi.

I just needed someone to ask me the right questions.

 

[Feathers n Fur]

She needs more calcium; you can buy oyster shells that should be mixed in with regular layer feed. Once her eggs have hard shells, rinse and dry out the shells.(you can bake them in the oven!) Then, Crush them into small pieces and use those instead of oyster shells.

Goood Luck!

 

[Feathers n Fur]

ACV does help them absorb nutrients. My hens have actually been laying better since I started using ACV.

You've probably seen there are a few factors that influence egg shell quality. In a nutshell it's diet, stress, disease and the hen's age. She's eating well and she's young and it sounds like she's healthy. So that leaves stress and possibly egg shell gland problems. What's changed with the rooster and did this coincide with the soft eggs?