What happened here?

[fatbeamie]

My hens just started laying the beginning of August, (I'm a newbie) I only have two, so for the most part I get two eggs a day. Today while they were roaming around I found a hatched egg, but the shell wasn't hard, it was a white almost plastic lining of sorts. It was a perfectly pretty egg, looks like she meant to poop, but the egg came out instead! Anyone know what this is or why it happened?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

This is a soft-shelled egg, it happens when pullets first start laying sometimes. No big deal. Clean it up and don't let them eat it so they don't become egg-eaters.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Oh, and welcome to BYC! Be sure to make yourself known in the New Members thread so you can get introduced to the community!

 

[PirateGirl]

It can be just because they are new layers, but it can be nutrition related. Make sure they have oyster shell on the side for added calcium to make those egg shells and they should be just fine.

 

[aart]

Today while they were roaming around I found a hatched egg, but the shell wasn't hard, it was a white almost plastic lining of sorts.

Broken, not hatched
That is a broken soft shell egg, just membrane and no shell.
Pretty common with new layers, eating them will not automatically make them egg eaters. That one has not been eaten or you probably wouldn't even have noticed it.
She may need more calcium, or fewer treats, or it could just be a one off glitch.
What all and how exactly are you feeding?

This video will explain all the parts of an egg:

Oh, and...Welcome to BYC! @fatbeamie
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!

 

[fatbeamie]

It can be just because they are new layers, but it can be nutrition related. Make sure they have oyster shell on the side for added calcium to make those egg shells and they should be just fine.

I have put oyster shell out several times, they don't seem to care for it and either just leave it sitting in the pan or it ends up getting spilled all over the coop. Also, I have roos as well and I read somewhere that they shouldn't eat oyster shell (is this accurate?) so I try to keep it separate. Thanks for answering!

 

[fatbeamie]

Broken, not hatched
That is a broken soft shell egg, just membrane and no shell.
Pretty common with new layers, eating them will not automatically make them egg eaters. That one has not been eaten or you probably wouldn't even have noticed it.
She may need more calcium, or fewer treats, or it could just be a one off glitch.
What all and how exactly are you feeding?

This video will explain all the parts of an egg:

Oh, and...Welcome to BYC! @fatbeamie
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, (laptop version shown), then it's always there!
View attachment 1899040

Thank you very much! We are in Maryland. I have put out oyster shell but they don't seem to like it, it either sits for days or get spilled all over the coop. I feed them a crumble feed I get from SS and they free range for a good part of the day. I try to give them a mix of scratch and a mealworm herb/seed mix once a day for four of them to share. The eggs have been very consistant, nice hard shell and quite a few double yokes, so hopefully it was just a glitch.

 

[PirateGirl]

They won’t eat much oyster shell. In my coop with 5 layers I have a small dog bowl I fill about a third of the way once ever 2-3 weeks. I never see them eat it but it slowly disappears.

 

[Chickenlady0628]

Thank you very much! We are in Maryland. I have put out oyster shell but they don't seem to like it, it either sits for days or get spilled all over the coop. I feed them a crumble feed I get from SS and they free range for a good part of the day. I try to give them a mix of scratch and a mealworm herb/seed mix once a day for four of them to share. The eggs have been very consistant, nice hard shell and quite a few double yokes, so hopefully it was just a glitch.

My girls has zero interest in oyster shells too, I started using the shells from their eggs. You just grind them up and sprinkle on their feed. There was a significant change in shell thickness after I started doing that. They went from breaking while collecting to me having to hit the shell fairly hard to even get a crack. Hope this helps!

 

[BigBlueHen53]

They won’t eat much oyster shell. In my coop with 5 layers I have a small dog bowl I fill about a third of the way once ever 2-3 weeks. I never see them eat it but it slowly disappears.

Yes, the key word here being "slooooowly," lol. You don't notice the levels of oyster shell or grit really going down from day to day (in their separate dishes) but they do need both. Put them in heavy flat pans they can't knock over, or in plastic bottles with a hole cut out for their heads, anchored or zip-tied to a fence. Non-laying birds won't eat oyster shell so you should always have it available for those who do.