What's a normal amount of soft shell eggs?

[chickpack2024]

I have 2 hens that lay every day and are about a 16 months old (and 10 pullets but they're not important here).

One of the hens, a starlight green egger, has been having about one shell-less a month for the last four months. Is that relatively normal? I'll go to check and she'll either have an egg with a chunk of unformed, soft shell laying next to it, or an intact lash egg. All of her other eggs are perfect. I'd say she lays 5-6 a week.

I'm asking because today I saw her lay in the middle of the yard (very weird) so I got to watch first hand as she laid a yolk and white, and then had a little soft shell hanging out of her vent. I tried to chase and grab it but I couldn't--just assuming she'll expel that at some point, it's pretty far out of her.

If I don't have oyster shells (because they're so much money if you only have 2 laying hens!) what else would she need? Should I be feeding her eggshells?

 

[FrostRanger]

I would provide oyster shell. Even a small bag will last 2 birds a very long time

As for the lash egg, laying lash eggs at all is concerning especially if it's not a one off thing. Are you sure they are lash eggs and not merely softshelled eggs? Do you have pictures of the lash eggs? Usually lash eggs are caused by an infection in a bird's reproductive tract. She might have something going on internally and it's not always treatable. Sometimes antibiotics can help if administered early enough but send pictures of the eggs in question before you do anything

 

[chickpack2024]

Ok. . . so I am definitely using this term wrong. These are soft shell or shell-less eggs. The shell just looks like a soft sack. The inside is normal.

 

[SJsChickies]

I have 2 hens that lay every day and are about a 16 months old (and 10 pullets but they're not important here).

One of the hens, a starlight green egger, has been having about one shell-less a month for the last four months. Is that relatively normal? I'll go to check and she'll either have an egg with a chunk of unformed, soft shell laying next to it, or an intact lash egg. All of her other eggs are perfect. I'd say she lays 5-6 a week.

I'm asking because today I saw her lay in the middle of the yard (very weird) so I got to watch first hand as she laid a yolk and white, and then had a little soft shell hanging out of her vent. I tried to chase and grab it but I couldn't--just assuming she'll expel that at some point, it's pretty far out of her.

If I don't have oyster shells (because they're so much money if you only have 2 laying hens!) what else would she need? Should I be feeding her eggshells?

Definitely get some oyster shells. You can get a 7lb bag from TSC for like $8 and it will last you a while! Are they on layer feed?

 

[MROO]

Ok. . . so I am definitely using this term wrong. These are soft shell or shell-less eggs. The shell just looks like a soft sack. The inside is normal.

They need more calcium. If you're feeding a chick or all-flock feed, you'll need to supplement with calcium. As @FrostRanger said, a small bag will last 2 hens a looooooong time. If you already use a layer feed (it has more calcium built in,) you can also supplement with crushed eggshells. I boil mine first, simply to keep from attracting varmints and ants, but that's not really necessary. Check your local produce stand for spent (not rotten, of course) spinach, too. It has a lot oc calcium, too - and your birds will think it's candy!

 

[FrostRanger]

Ok. . . so I am definitely using this term wrong. These are soft shell or shell-less eggs. The shell just looks like a soft sack. The inside is normal.

The issue is definitely they need more calcium. Laying soft shelled eggs is not good as they are harder to lay the hen is more likely to become eggbound which is an emergency. Definitely buy a bag of oyster shell for them

 

[FrostRanger]

This article explains what a lash egg is and what they look like BTW https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/what-is-a-lash-egg-all-you-need-to-know-more.77939/

 

[Mrs. K]

One soft shell egg a month I would not worry about, 4 in 4 months is really not a problem.