[delphinium]

Hello to everyone - we've been 'growing our own' for a fair while (20-odd years) but have just got some chickens after a long gap. (We kept Barnevelders and Marans a while back). We've got two new girls, a Bovans and a Blue Maran, and they are fantastic - they've not long been laying, and mostly all is OK. However, one of them (we think the Bovans) is laying soft-shelled eggs on a regular basis. We've got oyster shell/grit mix in the henhouse but have noticed they don't seem to be touching it. They get protein concentrate, plenty of greens and layers pellets and a handful of grain morning and evening. Any ideas?

This looks like a really friendly site. Good luck to everyone with their veg. and flowers!

[mumofstig]

welcome Delph,
I'll move this over to The Hen House where the  people may be able to help

[Pretty Chick]

Hello and welcome to the site Delphinium  .

Soft shelled eggs are very common in new layers, it takes time for the mechanics of laying an egg to run smoothly and this means that sometimes hiccups in the system do happen which leads to soft shelled eggs, yolkless eggs, double yolkers etc.
She'll soon get the hang of laying an egg and you should get an ample supply of perfectly formed eggs soon enough  .

[delphinium]

Thanks for this - it sounds reassuring. It's not a problem we had with our others, so we weren't really used to it. My Dad bred birds years ago, and I do remember seeing these 'wobbly' eggs sometimes. Wonderful birds, chickens!

[Celtic Eagle]

If she doesn't settle down and lay normal shelled eggs try adding a little lime flour to the feed it increase the available calcium. It worked with Satr one of our Warrens  It won't do the other any harm either.

[joyfull]

also cut out the treats until tea time, just give them layers the rest of the time.