[gailtearle]

one of my chickens have laid a soft egg , it wasnt in the nest box but on the ground outside ,could anyone tell me what this means is she poorly ? not sure which one laid it but they all seem fine at the moment .. very worried please help 

[orchardlady]

Welcome to the forum.

How old are your birds. Young birds just coming into lay sometimes lay these soft shelled eggs. This is because their bodies haven't quite got into the swing of things.

If your birds are starting to get on a bit this can also happen as their bodies system stats to get o the end of their egg laying days.

If this is a regular occurrence it may be that you need to offer more calcium in their diets. Give plenty of green leafed veg and make sure they have all day access to crushed oyster shell and grit which you should be able to purchase from a good pet shop or agricultural feed merchant.


Orchardlady

[gailtearle]

hi my girls are only young ive had them since mothers day they have a pot of oyster shell in their coop all the time . should i mix grit in their food ? i have four chooks and usually get four eggs every day , silly question but can they lay more than one egg per day ?

[Abacus]

Mine seem to lay about every 25 hours so as time goes by you will probably find the egg laying gets more spaced out and you inclined more to just pop open the nest box just to check.

[Sassy]

Ideally they should have access to grit. Although some say that the modern layers pellets provide this and if they free range they should pick enough up. Mine free range and are fed the layers pellets but still get through their grit.

However, this is not necessarily the reason they are laying soft-shelled eggs. Do keep an eye though as it takes a lot out of a chook to lay soft-shelled eggs and can make them under the weather.

[Lindeggs]

hi my girls are only young ive had them since mothers day they have a pot of oyster shell in their coop all the time . should i mix grit in their food ? i have four chooks and usually get four eggs every day , silly question but can they lay more than one egg per day ?

You don't need to mix grit in with their food.  They will find it themselves.

Having the pot of oyster shell there all the time is exactly what you should be doing.  They will just take what they need.

There are two kinds of grit: Shell grit is the one that they get calcium from and you're doing that one right.  The other kind is hard grit that they pick up from the ground.  It is made up of small stones that they use to grind their food.  If they have access to soil they will be finding enough hard grit too.

[VickyW]

I've read that baked and ground up egg shell can be given too, is this right?

[Helenaj]

Welcome to the forum! Yes, you can bake and crush egg shells but there should be no need with the oyster shell available.
Chickens are quirky, especially those just come into lay and can sometimes lay a soft egg for no particular reason, but as advised keep an eye out in case it is a regular occurence and could mean a more serious underlying problem.
 I seem to get soft and very odd shaped eggs when my hens have been frightened - usually courtesy of Police and Fire Service helicopters recently with all of the wildfires we've had in Wales. There's nothing like a helicopter hovering a few hundred feet above your girls to put them right off the lay. Some days you'd think it was a war zone!

[Casey76]

It is normal for hens to lay soft shelled eggs outside of the nest as they wouldnt want a non-viable egg *in* the nest, as it might attract predators.

It is pefrectly normal for a hen to lay an occasional soft shelled egg, even if they all have access to oystershell.

It only becomes a problem if the soft shelled eggs become persistent.

[VickyW]

Thanks Casey76, bit worried now as I back onto a bit of a dodgy area and the copper chopper comes over quite often!

[Lindeggs]

If it's a regular thing your girls will probably get used to it.  It's the unusual stuff that throws them off. 

Our neighbours got a new dog recently and at first when it barked my girls got all nervy.  Today I noticed that the dog barked right by the fence and they didn't even react.

[Helenaj]

VickyW, my girls are not normally fazed with a helicopter just flying over, it's that there is forestry just opposite my land (about 250m away) and recently the Police and Fire service have been hovering really low trying to catch the culprits who set the fires. It's been bedlam - they're even setting them at night. This wet weather we've had recently has been a Godsend, but with the next half term approaching and another dry spell of weather on the cards it'll be like living in the pits of hell again.

Lindeggs is right, they'll adapt to any regular loud noises, it's just the unusual events that throw them out.