Thin skinned

[Rstine]

I'm fairly new to chickens and am having a little problem.
I have 6 free range hens that are supplemented with laying mash. They all have the same access to the same food. They are 3 Rhode Island, 1 Barred Rock, 1 Americauna, and 1 Australorp.
The problem I am having is that one of them is laying eggs with a paper thin shell that is almost always broken before I gather.
What would cause this with just one of the ladies and not the others? How do I figure out which one it is> I know it's not the Americana due to color, but all of the others are brown. And by the way, that have been laying since April and this problem has just begun in the last month.
I appreciate any help with this.

 

[henny1129]

I'm not quite sure because I'm not super knowledgable with eggs and egg-laying. My only thought was she might not be getting enough calcium......anyone else have a thought?

 

[Rstine]

Calcium was my first thought, but why is only one hen having this problem?

 

[sunflour]

Hello and

Calcium would be first thing to try and make sure she is eating normally.

But there are other causes - defective shell gland, lack of vitamin D3, egg drop syndrome.

 

[CuzChickens]

Hello there, and welcome to Backyard chickens! Here is an article that a member of ours wrote about common egg problems, you just might find an answer here: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems. Good luck figuring out what is wrong, I hope you enjoy BYC!

 

[redsoxs]

Hello from Kansas, Rstine, and ! Great to have you aboard! Along with the link CuzChickens suggested, you might also post here https://www.backyardchickens.com/f/18/chicken-behaviors-and-egglaying
Hope you get it figured out soon! Best wishes!

 

[QueenMisha]

Welcome to BYC! It's great to have you. You've had some good advice above.

 

[drumstick diva]

Some hens may not be able to absorb and utilize calcium, or need more than what is available to them. You can put out a separate supply of crushed oyster shell, which hens will take free choice if they need it. Hope this helps.

 

[BantamFan4Life]

Welcome to BYC! I'm glad you joined us!

 

[Rstine]

Thanks for the help. I'm going to start with supplemental calcium and see what happens.