[alan m]

Hi all, we have 6 girls , a veritable mix of ex-bats and other hybrid laying hens, recently one of our ex-bats has done nothing but lay membrane eggs usually every 2days, she sits all hunched up with her tail down, she will stay like this for a couple of hours until she has expelled the soft egg.We have noticed that when she is due to lay a soft egg her crop seems very large - like a balloon- not food inside ,like liquid, she drinks an awful lot during this period, they all have access to good quality layers mash and layers pellets, grit and crushed oyster shell, we did try searching on the NET and it suggested lack of vitamin D and calcium deficiency, they free range for about 7 hours a day has anyone any ideas ? not worried if she doesnt lay anymore we would like her to be a bit more comfortable in her retirement , by the way she is about 2 yrs old ( rescued by BHWT july 08)...........alan

[pigsatlesrues]

I found this - hope it helps!

A soft shelled egg is one that has the shell either totally missing or resembling a fine soft membrane. It may look like a blob of jelly with a yolk.  The egg usually breaks and the soft shell then just looks like a wrinkled piece of material. Occasionally a hen appears quite ill, quiet and hunched for an hour or so before a soft shelled egg is laid, but then recovers completely soon after laying. A hen that behaves like this occasionally may have produced a soft egg that is eaten before you see it. A clue is the quick return to absolutely normal activity and behaviour. It is quite common for a hen to very occasionally lay a thin-shelled or soft-shelled egg. A few hens do this for a short while and a very few may do this for several weeks. This is extremely unlikely to indicate a problem with a hen. The one-off dodgy egg is just a blip in the egg production system, possibly caused by a shock, but usually no cause can be found.

Kate