If your chicken feels sick, her immune system will use the feed nutrients to fight the disease, neglecting egg production. As such, seeing your chicken lay soft-shelled egg could serve as a tentative diagnosis of a bacterial or viral infection .
A frequent question we ran across in our research was “Why do chickens lay soft shell eggs?”.
Thin or soft shelled eggs are caused by:
Not enough calcium in the diet. Calcium absorption problem . Too much ACV or Apple cider Vinegar. Young birds first eggs. Old chickens are known to lay more soft shelled eggs., and hot weather. Summer heat is the most probable cause. The chickens health. Too much protein in the diet. Egg drop syndrome or EDS., and more items.
There are three main causes for the production of soft-shelled or shell-less eggs . The first is that there may be a lack of calcium in your hen’s diet. Hens require a lot of calcium to form each egg shell. You can add more calcium to your flock’s diet by adding crushed oyster shells to their feed .
What does it mean when chickens lay soft eggs?
A soft egg can indicate any sort of illness , from a bacterial infection to a virus to trauma, and more. If you think your hen is sick, then only a vet can diagnose her exact illness and recommend a treatment. In my experience, once the illness is resolved, the hen starts laying healthy shelled eggs again.
When we were writing we ran into the inquiry “Why are my chickens laying thin shell eggs?”.
Some articles claimed one of the most frequent causes of laying thin shell or soft eggs is a diet low in calcium. While most quality layer feeds have extra calcium in them, you should still offer a supplement just to make sure your hens get enough. If your laying chickens aren’t eating enough calcium , soft eggs aren’t your only concern.
Do soft eggs have shells?
Soft eggs go by different names, mostly describing how it looks. In some cases, chickens lay eggs that don’t have shells – only the egg yolk wrapped by its albumen and the thin membrane . In other cases, your chicken might lay an egg that has a shell but its easily cracked. Why are having shells important in eggs?
Soft eggs, also called shell less eggs , soft shell eggs, partially shelled eggs, or rubber eggs, can be a sign of a few different factors, such as illness, age, and diet. One of the most frequent causes of laying thin shell or soft eggs is a diet low in calcium.
So, what causes soft shelled eggs to crack easily?
Trying to handle a soft shelled egg – easily cracked. Lack of Calcium A hen who is lacking calcium in her diet will typically have thin, and sometimes rubbery or non-existent, shells. Hens need calcium in order to construct lovely eggs on a daily basis.
Can a chicken lay both a coated and a soft shell egg?
In such cases, a hen may not lay an egg one day but may lay both a coated and a soft shell egg on the next. Here are some external factors for egg shell variations:.
How do I know if my chickens are laying soft-shelled eggs?
Or you might start to notice that the shells on your chickens’ eggs don’t seem quite as thick any longer and that the eggs crack much more easily. These are all signs that you might have a hen laying soft-shelled eggs. What is a Soft-Shelled Egg?