[andy46]

I have 4 hens and every day they seem to take it in turns to lay a soft shelled egg. I have no idea why they have ablib layers pellets and access to oyster shell and fresh water everyday.They are all happy and well looked after please can someone give me some advice

[grinling]

age/type/bubbly eyes/wheezy?

[joyfull]

are you sure they are taking it in turns and not the same one or two laying the soft shells.

[Sassy]

Agree Joyfull, likely to be the same hen/s. You could try feeding some limestone flour, available from agricultural/equestrian suppliers, just in case they are struggling for whatever reason with lack of calcium. Hens that are laying soft-shelled eggs are getting a lot taken out of them, they are a real struggle to lay. So you could try a general supplement, eg Poultry Spice.

[joyfull]

Also ensure they have dark leafy greens to help absorb any sources of calcium

[andy46]

They are 4 warrens and 2 yrs old there is no runny eyes or nose. As i am on hols this week i have kept an eye on the next box and all the seem to take in turns its baffled me.They have had some savoy cabbage today and they have poultry spice already only had 2 eggs today will see what happens in the next couple of days but any more advice would be cool thanks 

[grinling]

did you have from POL or rescue?
how long has this been occuring?
Look at each eye for bubbling and hold each bird for a few minutes and listen for chest noises.
People have been known to put sick hens in a free range place and get some new ones or even old birds for new ones.

[andy46]

pol they where only 17 weeks when i got then from the farm its been going on for about a week now am thinking about flubenvet but they where wormed in march so really dont want to do it sept.would some acv be of any help? only had 2 eggs today and they are good shells.

[grinling]

How old are they now? You got them from a farm, do they sell lots of hens or are they an egg farm producer? How soon did they start laying after you collected them?
My concern is that they might be ill birds which has been sold onto you. If you have only had these a few weeks, contact the sellers and see what they say.
Have you been able to check for bubbling in the eye/s and chest sounds. Picking the birds up and having a good look will help to see the signs as you cannot do so otherwise.
Also ask why a baby chick less than 6 weeks was wormed.

[splash101]

If they are 2 years old, egg production may well slow right down or even stop.

[BabbyAnn]

If they are 2 years old, egg production may well slow right down or even stop.

I think this is more likely the answer if the birds seem in good health.

pol they where only 17 weeks when i got then from the farm its been going on for about a week now am thinking about flubenvet but they where wormed in march so really dont want to do it sept.would some acv be of any help? only had 2 eggs today and they are good shells.

A week is not that long - it could be something changed, maybe a stress factor such as a weather pattern shift (eg too hot, thunderstorms), maybe coming into moult, a new visitor or something unfamiliar.

Worming them might not necessarily have anything to do with soft shelled eggs but it might be worth treating them so that you can tick the box as done and be sure that it is not the problem rather than whittle about it for another couple of months.

Calcium is insoluble in acidic conditions, so perhaps ACV is not the answer here.  I'd go with earlier suggestions and add a little limestone flour to a mash meal (maybe with a small amount of cod liver oil - if nothing else, the vitamin D will help to strengthen their bones if there is a calcium absorption problem) as well as some dark leafy greens (perhaps avoid spinach and chard as these contain oxalates which bind with calcium)  If they have been having other treats, it might be an idea to cut these out as they could be feasting on those and not so much on the layers.

Talking of layers pellets - maybe give the sack/bag a good shake of the the contents as sometimes the supplements can settle down to the bottom giving an uneven distribution.

[Elvira]

One of my girls lays soft shell eggs.  I got her along with 3 others from the same breeder last summer and she was just about POL then. Once the other two got into the swing of it they lay normal eggs but I have come to the conclusion (after worming and giving her supplements etc as suggested above) that she can't produce shell.  I am hoping that she will eventually lay normal eggs but suspect that this is how it is for her.  She is in good health so I am not worrying too much.

They are silkies so their egg production is a bit erratic in any event - it was better when we had the horrid weather in January than in the warm sunshine in June 

[helens-hens]

From my own experience I have found hybrid hens start to have this problem at about 2 years (in a commercial setting they probably would have been culled by this stage as egg production deteriorates).

Just keep an eye on them and try and identify which hen(s) have the problem.

One of mine, a brown ranger, has just reached 2 years and had been laying the odd thin shelled egg for a couple of months. About a month ago she had a prolapse whilst trying to lay a thin shelled egg and to try & avoid the risk of this happening again (or egg peritonitis) she has had a hormonal implant to stop her laying.

[andy46]

Thanks guys have stopped treats for now and they have green cabbage and a small hand full of corn before bed. will keep an eye on them just for now and see if things settle down.