[andy harris]

We have 12 freefange hens in the garden .Firstley we have a hen going through a bad molt and shes laying eggs with hardley any shell on it shes been like that for 2 months now...Now we had another one doing the same thing but i dont know which one it is as they all look fine to me.Plus for 2 days now i have found an egg with a soft shell BUT they have a big box full of grit in the run for them and i have not changed a thing and we have gone from having 11/12 eggs a day to 8/9 a day what can i do ??

[ellisr]

I would give them a bit of poultry spice to help them through the moult and maybe think about baking some egg shells in the oven then crunch them up and feed them to he chickens. Basically they are lacking in calcium because of moulting

[supplies for smallholders]

Hi,

Have a look at : https://www.suppliesforsmallholders.co.uk/poultry-health-c-100.html

Thanks

[CarolW]

Hi, I regularly log onto this site but have only just registered!

We have 12 chickens too !  And for the last 3-4 months one of them has looked like she's starting to moult but not quite got there, she's also been laying soft eggs - often with just the albumen and no shell at all. 
We separated her for a short while and she even laid 2 soft eggs in 1 day!
They always have access to grit, and are free range when we are at home, we mixed poultry spice with their food soon after she started laying soft eggs but it didnt really help. 
About 4 weeks ago we were advised to try limestone flour, if it's working it takes longer than I thought it would - but she has just started laying eggs with shells which are really thin but definately a shell.
Good luck !
Carol

[sheardale]

I have the same problem with some of the eggs.  I am going to try      Oyster Sheel Grit           Will let u know how I get on.

[doganjo]

Hi, I regularly log onto this site but have only just registered!

We have 12 chickens too !  And for the last 3-4 months one of them has looked like she's starting to moult but not quite got there, she's also been laying soft eggs - often with just the albumen and no shell at all. 
We separated her for a short while and she even laid 2 soft eggs in 1 day!
They always have access to grit, and are free range when we are at home, we mixed poultry spice with their food soon after she started laying soft eggs but it didnt really help. 
About 4 weeks ago we were advised to try limestone flour, if it's working it takes longer than I thought it would - but she has just started laying eggs with shells which are really thin but definately a shell.
Good luck !
Carol

Welcome to the forum, Carol!

[andy harris]

Hi guys
         I tried giving her the egg shells back and oyster shell and no change ....As she is over 2 years old i think she has come to the end of her lay so its time to get rid of her i think...

[jameslindsay]

Hi guys
         I tried giving her the egg shells back and oyster shell and no change ....As she is over 2 years old i think she has come to the end of her lay so its time to get rid of her i think...

I have a couple of hens that are over  years old and they still lay, not every day but still produce "Normal" eggs.

[Mo]

We have this problem with one of ours. They get grit, we supply it and they get it from foraging themselves.
We tried Poultry Spice to no noticeable effect.
We tried Limestone Flour and that seemed to improve things slightly - although, interestingly, we got this from an Equestrian shop and he was concerned we wanted it for horses and was trying to warn us that it can be detrimental in the long run ? But he hadn't heard of it being used on poultry.
We tried cheese with mixed feelings. Good source of calcium but we read somewhere that chickens are lactose intolerant? No visible results either way.
We have wondered if she may have had a touch of bronchitis although we never noticed the symptoms in her and the others don't seem to have been affected.
It's a mystery. Sometimes she lays good eggs, sometimes soft shell, sometimes just very delicate shells.

[CarolW]

Hi, I regularly log onto this site but have only just registered!

We have 12 chickens too !  And for the last 3-4 months one of them has looked like she's starting to moult but not quite got there, she's also been laying soft eggs - often with just the albumen and no shell at all. 
We separated her for a short while and she even laid 2 soft eggs in 1 day!
They always have access to grit, and are free range when we are at home, we mixed poultry spice with their food soon after she started laying soft eggs but it didnt really help. 
About 4 weeks ago we were advised to try limestone flour, if it's working it takes longer than I thought it would - but she has just started laying eggs with shells which are really thin but definately a shell.
Good luck !
Carol

Welcome to the forum, Carol!

thankyou !  -It took me a while to work out how to reply !

[sheardale]

Have had any success with your eggs yet.  I got no eggs today.   
Helen

[knightquest]

We got our first 6 chooks two weeks ago this Sunday.
They are pol (see below). We have had 3 to 4 eggs each day since but the last two days have produced one soft shell egg in the coop in the morning before I open up.

I suspect that it is the diet change that has done it but I don't know which bird it is. The other two eggs are fine. Any ideas as to what is causing the problem and when the others may start laying?

They are on layers pellets, oyster shell grit, corn and vegetables each day. I intend to start mixing my own food shortly to include egg shells and oil etc.

Ian

[jameslindsay]

I think they ar Isa Warrens?

[knightquest]

I think they ar Isa Warrens?

Yes, they are. Should have said that doh! 

Ian

[doganjo]

So what are Isa Browns then - a parent breed of Isa Warrens? And is the Warren the other half?