What is going on?!

[cstory]

My pullets have reached a laying age. I have 2 "barnyard breed" that are half Black Copper Maran and 2 Buff Orpingtons. I know for a fact, one of my BCM is laying because I've accidentally caught her in the nest box. She is producing a nice brown egg with a good shell. The other 3 hens, I'm not sure about. In the past 2 weeks I've found 5 broken eggs in the roost area and in the nest box. The shells are paper thin and almost like a deflated ballon texture. They appear to be the same color also. They've been on laying pellets for about 2-3 weeks now and free range 24/7 in the back yard. Yesterday, I did start offering oyster shell in a separate feeder free choice. Why would this hen or hens lay soft shelled broken eggs and one hen lay strong eggs? Will the calcium help this issue? How long should I wait to see results? Is there anything else I need to do?

 

[megan13]

I'm no expert on nutrition but my first thought about one laying good eggs and one laying bad eggs would be because they free range. Maybe one found another source of calcium in the yard. Also every hen is different. I'm interested to hear what other people have to say and if the oyster shells fix the problem. Did they seem interested in the shells?

 

[cstory]

I haven't saw them eating it yet but, then again, I haven't been out there long enough yet to see if they are interested in it. I'm hope today or tomorrow I can catch them showing some interest.

 

[aart]

Every bird is different, even among the same breeds, and matures at a different rate.

The first month or so of laying it is not at all unusual to get thin or soft shelled eggs.
Just be patient. Some lay perfect eggs right from the get go, some go back and forth until their bodies are 'tuned up' to egg production.

Might want to keep them confined for a few weeks, at least until late in the day, so they get lots of good balanced nutrition from their feed and oyster shells....it will also give them the chance to become habituated to laying in the coop nests so you don't have to go searching for eggs.

 

[cstory]

Thanks for the advice. After a little more digging in the forums I found a lot of information on "leather eggs". I am thinking the same thing about maturity rates and nutrition i.e. calcium intake. Hopefully these issues getting fixed will resolve the leather eggs.