Super soft eggs PLEASE HELP!

[brijetterom]

I have three chickens one which has been laying fantastically, and another that just began to lay. Her first egg was perfect, now her second egg has a super soft shell and some blood on the outside of it. It feels like a ballon filled with goo.

You can see by the photo its the one on the right.

I feed them layer feed, give them back their egg shells and I supplement with greens from the garden. I also add oyster shell to their feed, but maybe I need to be adding more.

I find it tremendously odd that her first egg would be perfect and so suddenly the second would be misformed.


Please help!

 

[torilovessmiles]

that's really normal for pullets that are just starting to lay. It's normal, even if the first egg had no defects.
The most common with mine seemed to be "fart eggs" but I've seen soft-shelled eggs as well. Young pullets have more defects in their eggs for the first couple months they're laying, so it's nothing to worry about, I'm sure
https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems
This article explains a lot

 

[brijetterom]

CHAOS IN THE COOP THIS AM!

After reading some threads on soft eggs, I went down to the coop to feed them some soft food with oyster shells in it and I found a mysterious broken yolk on the floor. Suddenly one chicken was running around with a soft looking shell hanging out of its mouth.

Oh bother, I hope I don't have an egg eater! This make for three eggs in the coop this am. 2 of which where not usable :/

 

[brijetterom]

Even the blood on the egg? What should I do with it? Cook it and give it back to them?

 

[torilovessmiles]

Even the blood on the egg? What should I do with it? Cook it and give it back to them?

Keep an eye on them about the egg-eating. If an egg was already broken, they will eat them. I've had birds eat broken eggs but not touch good eggs.
As far as what to do with the eggs, you can feed it to them, but if you suspect you have an egg-eater you may want to refrain from that. I would just through the shell-less egg away. If you have a dog, they like eggs. I often feed cracked eggs to my dogs!

 

[Blooie]

I agree with the others...rubber eggs are not uncommon when they first start laying, and even on occasion after that. I've also caught a couple of the girls eating them. But that really doesn't mean that you have "egg eaters" in your coop to worry about. Although mine have eaten a rubber egg or two before I find it, they've never made the transition to hard shelled eggs. Don't know why, but I'm learning that with chickens "not knowing why" they do some of the things they do is pretty common!

 

[brijetterom]

Thanks everyone! I don't know what I would do with out Backyard Chicken help!!!

 

[azygous]

One more thing I could add to the discussion is to make sure their crops are full at night when they go to roost. Night is when the egg-building process is taking place and the shell glad kicks in and lays down the calcium for the shell. Making certain they have the nutrients to do this is important, and calcium consumption late in the day really helps. Serving them up a late afternoon snack of yogurt or keifer could help a hen who is laying shelless eggs.

But an occasional rubber egg is nothing to be concerned about. It's when you have one particular hen that can't seem to get the shell wrapped around it, that you need to worry.

 

[Blooie]

One more thing I could add to the discussion is to make sure their crops are full at night when they go to roost. Night is when the egg-building process is taking place and the shell glad kicks in and lays down the calcium for the shell. Making certain they have the nutrients to do this is important, and calcium consumption late in the day really helps. Serving them up a late afternoon snack of yogurt or keifer could help a hen who is laying shelless eggs.

But an occasional rubber egg is nothing to be concerned about. It's when you have one particular hen that can't seem to get the shell wrapped around it, that you need to worry.

I didn't know that!! Thanks, azygous!

 

[Legbone]

It is 8 pm here in NC and I just went out to check food and water when we noticed one of the hens was out of the coop and just standing there. They usually pace back and forth when they hear us coming because they know we are bringing them a treat.
Anyway, as I approached the coop, I noticed she had laid an egg. (Even after she already given us an egg this morning.) As soon as we approached the coop with a flashlight, one of the other hens saw the egg and pecked it. It immediately collapsed and she ate the shell. But it looked like loose skin. Very thin.
Is something wrong with her?
Would the other hen have pecked at this egg because it wasn't in one of the laying boxes? They've never tried to eat an egg that I know of, but sometimes we only get two a day (we have three hens.) Unusual behavior from what we're used too.
By the way, they are 29 weeks old...