Thin egg shells (NOT soft shell)

[Jkoleff83]

I have a hen who just hit her 1 year old mark that recently (past month) has been laying thin shelled eggs.. I don't mean soft shelled, there is a shell that is hard but the shells break very easily. She has access to oyster as well as I feed back their egg shells crushed plus has calcium in their feed so unsure the cause of this or if I should even be concerned, as it is winter time and they have been cooped up frequently with the snow falls here in Michigan so not positive it's not just caused by stress of them all being confined off/on. She's an easter egger if that makes a difference. Sorry no pic but a pic would just look like a regular blue egg because as I've stated there IS a shell it's just quite thin. TIA.

 

[Callender Girl]

I hope your post attracts some attention from folks who know.

I have a 2-year-old Buckeye who is doing the same thing. She and her coop mates, including another Buckeye who isn't laying yet this season, have access to oyster shell and are frequently cooped up because of nasty winter weather. Same-age Sussex in the coop is laying like a champion -- regularly and with normal shells.

Althea's shells are so thin that they will break as I try to lift them out of the coop. She has also decided not to lay in the nest boxes; she drops them directly into the poop hammock under the roost (nasty!).

 

[aart]

If all the other birds have good shells and the EE is actually consuming the OS, then she could just have a faulty shelling gland.
Might try giving her a calcium citrate with vitD pill like @azygous recommends.
Or feeding her a 'private breakfast' loaded with calcium like @rosemarythyme does.

 

[Jkoleff83]

The rest of my girls eggs are also fine, which is why this confuses me and makes me wonder if there is something else going on with her. I can pick them up but if I even slightly bump them into another egg (in my hand pocket or while placing into cartons) they end up broken. Or another hen will go to lay in same box and end up crushing the egg and getting yolk all over herself and her egg as well. I have even went as far as adding some of their crushed egg shells on top of a few bowls of feed to ensure she was more likely to eat some added calcium but it has not changed thus far. Hoping with "spring" around the corner the weather will start to get a bit warmer so that they can get out and free range more and perhaps less stress will solve the problem.

 

[Jkoleff83]

If all the other birds have good shells and the EE is actually consuming the OS, then she could just have a faulty shelling gland.
Might try giving her a calcium citrate with vitD pill like @azygous recommends.
Or feeding her a 'private breakfast' loaded with calcium like @rosemarythyme does.

Thanks for that tip, I may try the private breakfast so I can at least be certain she's obtaining the extra calcium and hopefully that helps.

 

[azygous]

Get this. It goes to work quickly as it's a different form of calcium from oyster shell. Since you know whose eggs are thin shelled, push on whole tablet into her beak each day until her eggs are coming out with normal shells. When you see little calcium bumps on the shells, then you can stop giving this calcium to her and she can then rely on oyster shell again.

 

[Magda12]

View attachment 3436396Get this. It goes to work quickly as it's a different form of calcium from oyster shell. Since you know whose eggs are thin shelled, push on whole tablet into her beak each day until her eggs are coming out with normal shells. When you see little calcium bumps on the shells, then you can stop giving this calcium to her and she can then rely on oyster shell again.

I have the same issue with a 1 yo EE. She has always had little bumps on her eggs that look like nonpareils, but recently the shells are markedly thin and brittle. I did give her calcium a few days ago and the eggs seemed stronger. My question is, how do I know when enough is enough or do I just keep giving them to her, given that her eggs always have the calcium bumps?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Thanks for that tip, I may try the private breakfast so I can at least be certain she's obtaining the extra calcium and hopefully that helps.

Private breakfast:

If you know exactly which bird is the problem bird, isolate her for a private breakfast. 2-3x a week serve a small bowl (like 1 Tbsp is fine) of wet or fermented feed with oyster shell mixed in. If she does not like chunks of oyster shell, crush it up or use the powdery remnants from bottom of the bag. Should only take her minutes to eat and after that she's free to go.

Assuming her issue is simply insufficient calcium intake, you should see results in a week or two, and you can try reducing it to 1-2x a week and should hopefully continue getting good results. If you still have the same issue, then you might need to try pills of calcium citrate instead for a faster, bigger calcium boost.

 

[azygous]

After calcium therapy, you will know when it's enough when the eggs have a good strong shell.

 

[Magda12]

After calcium therapy, you will know when it's enough when the eggs have a good strong shell.

Is it possible to overdo it? I did the one pill, she had good eggs for a few days, then another thin, brittle one. Should I just keep giving them to her every few days or will that cause issues?