[viettaclark]

I'm sure now the hens are back in lay after Winter that it is one of my White Stars that has been laying softies for many weeks now. I find them under the rungs of the coop in the morning and recently she has been laying in the nest box (stickiness present)  and outside in the garden after a long period of on and off straining so I know it's her. I know passing soft eggs is very painful for them. She eats the egg after laying.
I know she has laid at least one hard one in the time period because I got 2 white eggs from 2 white hens and I thought they might have alternated daily over Winter.
Anyway....all the other hens are laying well, there are 2 containers of oyster shell always available and she was an excellent layer for several months. She is perfectly healthy in every other way....lovely plumage, no crawlies, clear eyes, large red floppy comb, normal vent, very active and a good appetite etc. She's about a year old.
This makes me think it's not calcium absorbtion and I was reading about that vrus that causes mis-shapes and softies. I think it lasts quite a few weeks but surely there would be other symptoms?
I do hate to see her in such distress when laying (eyes big and black, ruffled plumage, no interest in food, straining away) but when she has passed the egg she's back to normal!So has anyone got any ideas, please?

[SamT]

Hi. I don't have an answer to this but have a similar situation myself so am hoping to get an answer thru your post. One of my chooks has been laying eggs with no shells for a couple of days, and y'day in the nesting box I found 3 soft shells and a mini egg, there was rubbery egg mixed amoungst it all and am wondering if all the shells are hers and got stuck inside her and all come out at once.

[hen-night]

They need the correct level of protein to make hard shells as well, are they eating their layers pellets ok?

[ANHBUC]

I can second that hen-night.  The only hen I have that lays softies is the greadiest so if any treats are about she gets 3 times as much as the others.  This usually results in her laying a softie so I keep treats to a minimum.  The other time she lays softies is when she has a potential double yolker and her system tries to shell 2 eggs at once.  She then lays 2 softies in one day. 

[helens-hens]

Re the virus that can cause mis-shapen eggs etc, apparently if a hen has had mycoplasma in the past, this can go onto affect the reproductive system and cause problems.

One of mine, Harriet, persistently layed soft eggs for a month or so late last summer. I took her to the vet to get her checked over and mentioned that she appeared to have had myco (or something similar) the previous year and he agreed that it could have had an effect.

She had a calcium & vit D supplement which didn't do anything then not long after the supplements had finished she started laying hard shell eggs again and is continuing to lay well now (some eggs not looking desparately appetising though!). The soft shell period lasted probably just over 2 months.

Given my experience, I am sure there is a good chance your hen will recover too. One thing I would say is to keep a close eye on her for egg yolk peritonitis which is where a shell-less egg effectively goes the wrong way in the hen's system and can end up in the abdomen and cause peritonitis. The vet told me that a common sign was if the hen appears to waddle like a duck when walking. I am certainly not trying to worry you but it is always as well to be aware of these things.

Spring hopefully will be around the corner soon as well and extra daylight and sun will help with your hen's levels of vitamin D which is important for calcium absorption so is another factor.

Hope this helps

[Nicki85]

Echo helens-hens... One of my chooks, Delia, laid 2-3 soft shelled eggs over night from her perch almost every other night for at least two to three months.  She eventually figured it out and used to produce a lovely blue egg every day.  She is just coming back into lay now after moulting and we have the same thing- lots of softies!  But I expect she will get there.  They have a mineral supplemement in their food which I think helps.  I suspect yours will be the same- they sometimes seem to take a while to get all the mechanics working 

[kegs]

I have a Hipswell Sussex who has laid soft shelled eggs since the day we got her 10 months ago.  She eats a good quality layers pellet, free ranges, has sun all day and few treats.  I have tried everything possible to help her and the only thing that works for her is a pinch of oyster shell (not with grit but shell on its own) mixed with Cod Liver Oil.  I put this in with some layers and few bits of corn, add a drop of water to let the whole thing turn into a sludge and she eats it up.  The whole lot is probably no more than a tea spoon.  I do this for 3 days out of 7 and for her it's enough to provide a shell strong enough for her to pass without causing any discomfort but I still have to get to it before the other hens or they will peck it to check the quality and then eat it.  When I tried giving her the oyster shell without the Cod Liver Oil it didn't work.  Good luck with helping your White Star.

[helens-hens]

Thats a good idea Kegs and the cod liver oil contains the vitamin D which helps with the calcium absorption. Does she have this 3 days a week, every week?

I guess some hens have a chronic problem possibly with calcium absorption?

[kegs]

Thats a good idea Kegs and the cod liver oil contains the vitamin D which helps with the calcium absorption. Does she have this 3 days a week, every week?

I guess some hens have a chronic problem possibly with calcium absorption?

I do for mine - but like people - a treatment that works for one chicken possibly won't work for another.  I do think my chicken has a chronic problem with calcium absorption because she certainly eats enough pellets and she's fit, healthy and active in herself but just cannot provide a shell! 

An old time keeper wrote an article in Practical Poultry a while back debating whether modern hybrids no longer have the qualities they used to as more new keepers seem to be suffering with birds who lay soft shells, or prolapses etc..  Certainly it seems to be mentioned quite a lot.

[viettaclark]

Thank-you for all your replies.
I remember my 2 older girls did the same.....lots of softies for weeks (at different times I must add) and I thought they were coming to the end of lay.
So eventually I got a couple more girls and b****r me they started laying lovely eggs again! Last Summer we had LOADS of eggs!
That's why I thought it might be a very slow moving virus of some kind.
At least I'm feeling happier about the situation and look forward to her large HARD white eggs! They were out in the sun today and had some kale so we'll see.
I will keep an eye out for any signs of peritonitis........

[Mrs Bee]

Thank-you for all your replies.
I remember my 2 older girls did the same.....lots of softies for weeks (at different times I must add) and I thought they were coming to the end of lay.
So eventually I got a couple more girls and b****r me they started laying lovely eggs again! Last Summer we had LOADS of eggs!
That's why I thought it might be a very slow moving virus of some kind.
At least I'm feeling happier about the situation and look forward to her large HARD white eggs! They were out in the sun today and had some kale so we'll see.
I will keep an eye out for any signs of peritonitis........

This has been really interesting. OH just come in with a softie from one of our old black rocks. A very large softie so all the suggestions here have been of help.
 

[jaws]

I was about to ask a question about soft shell eggs so this was very interesting. Again it is my white hen who is laying the soft shell eggs and has a messy rear end. I was told by a  chicken breeder previously that persistant soft shell eggs is caused by a disease which the young chicks should have been vaccinated against. Can anyone say if this is true and can the vaccination be given at a later stage?
I will make up the mash with extra calcium (I have limestone flour from my previous soft layer - although it did not seem to fix the problem), cod liver oil and chicken spice/garlic. Can excess harm the other birds? If I have run out of oyster shell I have baked and ground up egg shells - is this a good or bad thing to do?
A question which puzzles me - why are the soft shell eggs often layed out and about in the run rather than in the nesting box?
THansk
for any advice
Joan

[kegs]

I was about to ask a question about soft shell eggs so this was very interesting. Again it is my white hen who is laying the soft shell eggs and has a messy rear end. I was told by a  chicken breeder previously that persistant soft shell eggs is caused by a disease which the young chicks should have been vaccinated against. Can anyone say if this is true and can the vaccination be given at a later stage?
I will make up the mash with extra calcium (I have limestone flour from my previous soft layer - although it did not seem to fix the problem), cod liver oil and chicken spice/garlic. Can excess harm the other birds? If I have run out of oyster shell I have baked and ground up egg shells - is this a good or bad thing to do?
A question which puzzles me - why are the soft shell eggs often layed out and about in the run rather than in the nesting box?
THansk
for any advice
Joan

The disease is Infection Bronchitis but one of the symptoms is a marked decrease in eggs (mine lays every day without fail so I don't think this is the cause).  As far as I'm aware it isn't possible to vaccinate now as the vaccination is given to chicks and it could be that some chickens simply missed out on the vaccination.

I would try to give the extra calcium to the chicken with the soft eggs as too much calcium for your other layers could result in an extra layer of calcium deposit on their eggs and which as you suspected isn't good for them (I think if I remember correctly it can cause kidney damage in old age).

You can use baked and ground egg shell if you run out but I haven't tried this so don't know how effective it is.

As for the eggs being laid out of the nest box it could be that it starts off in the nest box but when the other birds fight to eat it when they know it hasn't got a viable shell they peck it and it ends up outside the coop.  Or your chicken knows it's going to be a softy and is trying to keep the nest box clean for you! 

[viettaclark]

She isn't laying anything now (unless the others are eating any softies) She's as fit as a fiddle with a huge floppy red comb but no eggs even though all the others are laying well.
She started off ok last Spring/Summer but I think I shall have to accept she's a duff one!

[Markw]

This is an interesting topic, I was just reading on another site about using cod liver oil and calcium in the diet, It has some very interesting information. I only came across the site while looking into Australorps.

http://castlefarmeggs.co.uk/?page_id=108