[ali2]

We have four chickens that have been laying 4 eggs a day very regular however yesterday there was only three eggs and amongst the pooh in the coop there was yellow yolk type stuff and this mornng have only picked up three eggs and again there was yolk like substance again amongst the pooh.   I am assuming one of the chickens have developed some type of problem maybe ....anyone else had this problem ...and any idea what it is?

Am worming them at the moment on Flu. but not sure whether this has anything to do with it.

[treacleminer]

There are 2 possibilities - 1, one of them is laying fairly early and cant be bothered to  the nest box so is laying from the roost and the egg is breaking and being devoured by the chucks when they realise its there.
2, one is laying soft shells - again will be eaten by the chucks if its there.

This only becomes a problem if they realise that the things they lay every day are edible and they get into the habit of breaking and eating eggs - make sure you remove any broken eggs as early as possible, hopefully before they realise its there to avoid them all getting a taste for them.

[georgeclark]

I think Treacleminer may be right. The most common explanation will be your chicken is laying earlier than it should be; therefore producing weaker eggs. Your chicken probably decides to devour these eggs right on the spot of where a poo is.

[ali2]

I know now that it was a soft shell egg ...noticed a 'condom' (!!)   looking thing for want of a better description in the garden the first day I noticed the yellow yolk..which I realise now was the egg membrane, wonderd what on earth it was  and where it had come from when I first spotted it...the next day - yesterday - she laid after looking very sorry for herself a soft egg in the nestingbox - was in   3 parts ...the yolk...the egg shell in this case not developed and the whte membrane...today she is still not really herself compared to the other chickens.  She has been laying for 3 or 4 months now so is obviously having some sort of hiccup  ..would laying soft eggs make them under the weather do you think?

[joyfull]

yes definately, do they have access to oyster shell or baked crushed egg shells all the time? If they do then perhaps she needs a little bit more help for a few days - perhaps some limestone flour (this can be obtained from either horsey places or reptile pet shops), just dip half a grape (or whatever moist treat she likes) and feed it to her once a day for a few days to see if this solves the problem. Complications can arise if it breaks inside her so best to sort it out early on