What is wrong with this soft egg laying hen?

[zowieyellowflame]

I have a hen that used to be a champion layer.... big flavorful brown eggs. Now her eggs have a runny, watery white, taste bland and are often not laid. (so I thought)
Yesterday I went in to find she just laid a soft, broken egg and all the other hens were fighting over the bits!! Oh no!!! I cleaned out the box and their was a lot of egg goo.
This hen is atleast 1 yr old, but i just got her in the spring so I am not sure how old she is. She eats the following, same as everyone...... layers mash, chick grower (young birds in same pen), scratch, cracked corn and treats of vegetables. I also periodically put organic apple cider vinegar in their water. The only other thing that is weird is that she eats constantly, like she just cant get enough. I even put some oyster shell in the coop.
Could this be some sort of disease? Or could it be because she eats mash and is only eating certain pieces? Should i switch to crumbles?

 

[lauralou]

It may simply be a natural occurrence as she gears down to stop laying for the winter. My best egglayer dropped an egg from the roost with a paper thin shell the other night. Her production has dropped dramatically, and I expect it to continue slowing down until she stops laying completely. My hens usually start laying again in mid-February.

If you want them to lay over the winter, you could add a light in the coop, with a timer set to go on very early in the morning. Like 5am, or even earlier.

The fact that she is eating more than she normally does could be because she is molting. I notice that my hens eat a lot as they molt and regrow their feathers.

Those are just a couple of ideas that I had. Maybe other folks will have different ideas for you.