soft shell egg

It is a very talked about subject 

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?action=search2

The basics are feed good quality layers pellets, fresh water, cut out all treats.  Green leafy vegetables will help your hens absorb the calcium needed to form a good shell.  Hens should always have access to grit and oyster shell even if they don't seem to be eating them.  If they are freeranging put a feeder with layers pellets and drinker where they freerange.  Some people recommend cod liver oil but this must only be in tiny amounts so as not to damage their liver.  A final thing if it is really presistent would be lime stone flour which improves the shell quality but should not be used long term.

Causes of softies can vary from, young bird getting the hang of things.  Older bird coming to the end of laying.  Weather can affect the passage of the egg as well as the bird having a fright (the egg passes through too quickly so the shell is not properly formed).  Molting takes it out of a bird as they need to produce new feathers.  A worm infestation, redmites and lice can also interfere with the quality of the shell.

Persistent soft shelled eggs if everything has been tried could be down to the breeding of the bird.  So much emphasis is put on egg production there are bound to be some hens that just can't cope.

If I have left anything out I am sure someone else will add more.   

In my previous postings, it says the type and breed of my hens, including where they came from and their age And you have replied to most of my postings  ANHBUC

They all merge in to one after replying to so many (well that is my excuse and I'm sticking to it, what do you mean it could be my age)!!!!

Just keep any eye on it and any drop in egg production in case the hen has one break inside her.  If they have just started to lay recently it may just be a glitch.  It could be a noise at night that is frightening her and she is laying as a result from the perch.  I think I have read that they sometime lay when a predator is around, possibly to distract them and then they can escape.  It does sound plausible.

Did I forget something 

It usually is when I am busy, I do usually remember but it is when I don't need to know any more.   

They don't need a light it would probably put their body clock out of sync. 

I heard access to greens helps them absorb calcium too, maybe throw in a cabbage. I use Haygates layers pellets and have had a couple of soft shells but it was during the winter months when a couple of the new to lay birds were getting the hang of things. Is it soft as in jelly like or just a thin shell that cracks easily?

If there isnt enough bedding in the nesting boxes we get the odd cracked egg.

It sounds like you are doing everything correct! One thing you could add is a garlic clove to their water and flubenvet for worming. We had a hen who wasnt laying (and could of been the source of the couple of soft shelled eggs) then we wormed her with flubenvet and she is laying a perfect egg most days. We still dont know if it was the wormer or the weather that caused a glitch with her. All I do know is that she had the most messy bum out of all the hens. If yours has a messy bum i'd try the worming thing.

I had a hen who laid well but the eggs had a very poor shell quality. All the other hens were fine - sometimes it doesn't matter what you do!

I have a similar problem with my hens. Two seem to be laying during the night, as each morning I find two broken eggs in the tray under their roosts.  Would a dummy egg in a nesting box help? They are only 18 weeks old so I am inclined to put it down to youth, but would like to ensure that they get the hang of using the nesting boxes.  Any advice welcome. Hen no 3 uses the nesting box during the day, albeit producing very small but perfectly formed eggs at present. I have had the hens for one week, so the fact that they are laying already is a bonus.

Mine all use the nest box now to lay eggs, but its where they used to sleep before I put perches up for them, I give them a porridge of layers mash and mix in plenty of oyster shell grit and have ground up old egg shells and mix that in with it and I havent had an egg laid outside of the nest boxes or any more soft shell eggs