Chronic soft shelled eggs

[Bkaye]

I feel like I always post up with issues with my flock.

I have a Silkie Pullet that started off laying hard shelled eggs. Shortly after starting to lay she started laying soft shelled eggs. I didn’t think anything of it since she was a new layer. She started to have more soft shelled eggs than regular eggs. I gave her calcium with vitamin D and the eggs would go back to hard shelled then an egg or 2 later and it was back soft. This has now been going on for a couple months.

This past week I went out to check on them and she had egg all over her backside and the egg membrane sticking out (we removed the membrane). I didn’t see any yolk anywhere but wasn’t sure if someone ate it. The next day she was starting to act lethargic so started her right away on amoxicillin, and giving her calcium 2 hours later. I plan to keep her on the calcium at least a week. Her behavior is now back to normal.

I feed my flock grower/starter and have free choice oyster shell. I’m not sure what the problem is. Is she to stupid to know she needs the oyster shell? Does she not like it? I know she’s capable of laying hard shelled eggs as she had laid some.

Has anyone ever had this problem? If so what did you do? Should I try a diff brand of oyster shell?

 

[azygous]

Many things can factor into thin shells. Let's go over them.

Quality of oyster shell can be the problem if the shell has degraded into small particles and powdery residue. The larger shell particles are more desirable since they remain in the intestines longer and are more thoroughly absorbed than small particles.

Inability to efficiently absorb calcium from oyster shell and food. This can be a chronic issue caused by genetics or from lack of exposure to sunlight.

Age of hen. Shells can become thinner as a hen ages.

Molt. Thin shells can occur as a hen is beginning molt. This situation resolves after her she completes molt, eggs returning to good quality.

Stress. This one is usually temporary and resolves once the stress has resided. A predator visit, a heat wave, and sickness can affect shell quality.

Too much potassium. Often spinach fed in large amounts can sap calcium and cause shell problems. Spinach also has oxalic acid which inhibits calcium uptake. Other foods high on potassium fed in quantity and also cause this. Limit treats.

 

[Bkaye]

Many things can factor into thin shells. Let's go over them.

Quality of oyster shell can be the problem if the shell has degraded into small particles and powdery residue. The larger shell particles are more desirable since they remain in the intestines longer and are more thoroughly absorbed than small particles.

Inability to efficiently absorb calcium from oyster shell and food. This can be a chronic issue caused by genetics or from lack of exposure to sunlight.

Age of hen. Shells can become thinner as a hen ages.

Molt. Thin shells can occur as a hen is beginning molt. This situation resolves after her she completes molt, eggs returning to good quality.

Stress. This one is usually temporary and resolves once the stress has resided. A predator visit, a heat wave, and sickness can affect shell quality.

Too much potassium. Often spinach fed in large amounts can sap calcium and cause shell problems. Spinach also has oxalic acid which inhibits calcium uptake. Other foods high on potassium fed in quantity and also cause this. Limit treats.

As always thank you for the reply.

I don’t think the oyster shell is the issue, it’s more chunks than powder and out of 16 of my laying girls she’s the only one with an issue.

I guess it could be genetics. They stay in a covered run. That being said there is always part of the run that is in the sun and always a part that’s shaded so I guess that’s a possibility as well.

The Pullet is 7 months old so age should be an issue.

She’s not molting to my knowledge (I haven’t seen any pin feathers). The only one I feel is molting is a Brahma cockerel that is also 7 months old. He’s covered in pin feathers.

A predator is a very likely cause. We have a neighbors who has decided to get at least 7 outdoor cats/kittens who has been frequenting our yard. I have caught them behind both our bantam coop, and our Brahmas coop multiple times per day. We have open air coops. Our Brahmas are in a dog kennel with hardware cloth covering it with a tarp for a
Roof and we have tarps/plastic sheeting up to block winds. Our bantam coop is also a open air coop. It’s a hoop coop that has a tarp covering it as well as plastic blocking the wind on the sides. So any predator at night they will be able to see. We have been trying to address the cat problem for a few days now. It will be interesting to see if her problem goes away once the cats are no longer visiting.

They have only eaten their starter/grower so potassium shouldn’t be the problem.

I guess from here once the cat situation is under control it’ll be interesting to see if she goes back to hard shell eggs.

 

[azygous]

Chickens will become accustomed to the presence of the cats, and as long as the cats aren't predatory to the chickens, they will announce their arrival, but then resume their normal activity. This is how my chickens behave when squirrels come around and sometimes even manage to get inside the run.

That said, I don't understand why our culture thinks it's okay for cats to be at large and not dogs. And no one needs seven cats, I don't care what their reason is.

 

[Bkaye]

Chickens will become accustomed to the presence of the cats, and as long as the cats aren't predatory to the chickens, they will announce their arrival, but then resume their normal activity. This is how my chickens behave when squirrels come around and sometimes even manage to get inside the run.

That said, I don't understand why our culture thinks it's okay for cats to be at large and not dogs. And no one needs seven cats, I don't care what their reason is.

Thats reassuring, I told my husband the other day it seemed like the brahmas have gotten use to the cats because they have completely stopped making any type of alarm calls when they see them.

You and I are on the same page with this! I am so frustrated with the situation. Our whole backyard is fenced in, but they slide under the fence, between the gaps at the gates and will also climb the fence. It's to the point we cannot let our dogs off leash in our own backyard. Not in fear of them getting the cats but in fear of them chasing the cats and escaping then getting the cats (I have a husky that is an escape artist with a high prey drive and given the opportunity would push her way under the fence after something). We were walking our 2 dogs the other night in the back yard, and we turned around and 2 little kittens came running up behind us. I know for sure there are 7 that is just what I have counted at one time. No telling the actual numbers.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Have you ever seen her eat the oyster shell? She may not be eating it (some birds won't, or won't eat enough).

Since she's capable of laying hard shelled eggs, it sounds like you need to keep her on a regular regimen of oyster supplement while she's actively laying - don't stop giving it even if she produces a hard shelled egg. She may only need supplementing 1-2x a week but for the time being it's better to start off with daily supplements, and then ease back little by little to find what the minimum is that she needs to get by.

Other option is to make her a private, calcium enriched breakfast by mixing oyster shell into wet or fermented feed, but since you've mentioned you've already tried tablets with good effect there's no reason to change that.

 

[Bkaye]

Thanks @rosemarythyme I’ve only physically seen her eat them once and that was early on when she first started laying. My suspicion was she’s not eating them but I’m not sure if she don’t like them or she doesn’t feel she needs it. I thought that very well could be the problem of her not eating it until @azygous made the comment about predators. Now I don’t know which it is or even a combination of both. I work all day so I only sit with them in the evenings so can’t say for certain she’s not eating some during the day. She hasn’t laid since Monday. That’s when I found the membrane hanging out of her vent. After I got it out I gave her a calcium tablet to try to push anything that may be in her out. I started the amoxicillin Tuesday and yesterday she was noticeably feeling a lot better and chatty. I have been giving her the calcium nightly since. I figured I would give it daily for a week. At this point I’m not sure if she will start back laying or if she will wait until spring. I kinda assumed since this was her first year laying she would lay through winter but she may have different plans.

My original plan was to rehome her with a Silkie cockerel that I have. They were tsc accidents and were the wrong breed and being my first birds I didn’t know better. Started noticing odd things that didn’t line up with the breed I was suppose to have once I got them home. But since she has been having these issues I haven’t wanted to rehome her if something was wrong with her or if she was going to need extra care.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I figured I would give it daily for a week. At this point I’m not sure if she will start back laying or if she will wait until spring. I kinda assumed since this was her first year laying she would lay through winter but she may have different plans.

If she doesn't resume laying, no need for the calcium then. Since she's young she may resume laying through winter (and if she does, I would start up the calcium regimen again).

My original plan was to rehome her with a Silkie cockerel that I have. They were tsc accidents and were the wrong breed and being my first birds I didn’t know better. Started noticing odd things that didn’t line up with the breed I was suppose to have once I got them home. But since she has been having these issues I haven’t wanted to rehome her if something was wrong with her or if she was going to need extra care.

You can probably still rehome her if you want, with full disclosure that she may need extra calcium. Or if the new owner feeds layer (not ideal for the cockerel, but everyone manages their flock differently) that might be enough to help her be more regular with her egg shelling.

 

[Kmaria187]

I add a bit of calcium to my girls food every other day they had weak shells no longer a problem.

 

[Gammas Bearded Babies]

I add a bit of calcium to my girls food every other day they had weak shells no longer a problem.

What type calcium? Human powder form? How much?