just got a soft / broken egg: should i worry?

[tlck9]

do they get a formulated feed - layers pellets etc?

I feed them smallholders Layers pellets, with smallholders super mixed corn (but only 1 handfull for all four chucks (not each) and a very small amount just to move them away from the gate when I go in to shut them away.

They have a grit/shell cup which is available to them all day

[Bramble-Poultry]

shouldn't be a diet deficiency then, it make be an uptake deficieny if it happens again let me know

[tlck9]

shouldn't be a diet deficiency then, it make be an uptake deficieny if it happens again let me know

Hi Bramble-poultry

I'm not sure but my souffle, had yolk on her beak again today, but this time absolutely nothing in the coup, other than a couple of areas of very small egg yolk stains....

I'm hoping that I will find an egg from her today, but if not, then i'm afraid she is either eating the eggs, or they are soft again and she is then eating that - the other three are all producing eggs okay, so I can only imagine its her

This is the one that I had to bath, because I was worried she was egg bound

[Suechooks]

I'd say she is laying soft shelled eggs and eating those. If they break the egg and eat it they usually leave the shell I think - at least the egg eater I used to have did. The ex-batts leave the shell when they lay one which is cracked or has a weak spot. (I have one who quite often does one with a dent/weak area).
What do you think Jeni?

[tlck9]

certainly no egg remnants at all, in fact no egg sac was there either.

I will double check tonight when I pop back to collect their eggs

The issue is that its happening over night, so I have no way of putting a stop to it...or is there???

[TPeers]

Put a thick layer of shavings or whatever nest box bedding you use under the perch.

I have a hen that occasionally throws an egg overnight and if it goes onto a hard surface it will crack and get eaten - if it drops onto shavings it doesn't crack and gets left......

Does mean more, and more careful cleaning because the red mite can hide in the shavings, six of one - half dozen of the other....

[tlck9]

Perhaps that my problem, I have removed the shavings to combat the red mite

I will try tonight after spraying for red mite and see if it helps

I worry if this is two soft eggs in a week? I will keep an eye out

[Bramble-Poultry]

Egg eaters will leave the shell, I've never had a egg shell eaten. I don;t have an egg eater but like sue said if they lay one that gets broken then will eat it.

Try that tlck and keep an eye on them - then if she does another then its time to do something.

[tlck9]

PANIC STATIONS:

Souffle has yet more yolk on her this morning, but only one small spec on the shavings - her being white showed a slight smearing on her head -

I've checked the floor, placed shavings down over night (not huge amounts but enough) and there are no eggshell remnants

By the time I got to her last night she had bedded down for the night, so I didnt check her for yolk like I would normally, but there was again no egg from her yesterday

What am I going to do????



ps none of the 3 other eggs are being touched

[RichmondHens]

I know what I would do, but you may not prefer that option!!! Egg eating is a hard habit to break. You could empty an egg and fill it with something nasty tasting, like mustard, and leave it for her to find, hoping that when she samples the contents it will put her off, but this may not necessarily work. Whatever you decide you need to make sure the others don't start to copy her.

Make sure they always have enough water (some egg eat if they are thirsty) and are not filling up on treats. If they are protein deprived ( ie not eating/getting enough of their pellet ration) they will look for other ways of getting it.

[tlck9]

I know what I would do, but you may not prefer that option!!! Egg eating is a hard habit to break. .

Although they are a recent acquition they are ultimately pets, rather than the initial never name them scenario, she was the one that was a pain when I got her and now she is the best one of the group

They arent touching the main eggs, only her soft ones, so perhaps I need to read up on curing soft eggs.

I would be sad to lose her, but if this is a problem and she needs dealing with then I will have to do that, but I think I need to look at all other options first...

[TPeers]

Soft eggs - usual causes are lack of calcium, shock and/or bullying.

Get some small bird grit - the little red box from the pet shop ment for buddgies

Sprinkle liberally over the pellet/mash ration.

Shock - check the garden - are you getting foxes or dogs sniffing around the hen house?

Bullying - umm.. need to identify the possible bully, not easy.

One other option is that it is hereditary and then you are scuppered so I'd look at the calcium route first.

Just because the feed has calcium doesn't mean it is enough for this particular hen, if you are really worried your vet should be able to give a calcuim injection.

[Bramble-Poultry]

Soft eggs - main causes

Old hen, ex-battery hen, nutritional problem, toxins, parasites (internal and external), illness, management problems, shock and Coccidiosis.

Ok so here goes....

hen physiology and nutrition 101 (the condensed version - I mean condensed we did a whole year on hen anatomy and physiolgy at college and i'm doing it here in 1000 words or less!)

lets start with calcium - a very likely culprit

hens store calcium in the medullery bone, they store more than they need so by the time they are laying soft eggs calcium levels have been a problem for quite a while. A hen who eats a balanced formulated diet will NOT have a deficiency in calcium in the diet (assuming they are eating enough) - however calcium uptake and calcium deficiency are two totally differnt things! Increasing calcium in the diet is not necessarily increase the calcium in the bird.

Phosphorus is a limiting factor in calcuim uptake, ie phosphorus stops calcium being abosorbed and vica versa, however phosphorus is vital in the diet and also aids in shell formulation - calcium and phosphorus are both consituants of bone. Vitamin D is the facilitator in calcuim uptake - if vitamin D is deficient then calcium will not be taken up by the bird regardless of how much you give it. Vitamin D one of the best non meat based sources of Vitamin D is eggs!! Vitamin D deficiency can be caused by insufficient in the diet or a liver problem (its a fat soluble vitamin so is processed in the liver)

To increase the calcium uptake in a hen quickly requires a small particle size that is quickly broken down - limestone flour is the best for this, but for this to be effective you also need to increase Vitamin d in the diet (for short periods poultry can tolerate 100 times their requirements for vitamin d so toxicosis will not occur) - best way is to buy preformulated vitamin drops designed for birds - any birds the budgie one will do, its the same stuff just differnt dosage. feed this in the diet for a week, if you want to make sure she eats it make it a treat in the afternoon mixed in wth some pasta or sweetcorn or anything she will scoff down. If soft eggs are still being laid after a week then its not calcium deficiency. If eggs are starting to return to normal then continue feeding this for another week and then cease feeding the extra ration - if eggs remain normal it was a blip (it happens 1001 causes) - if they return to being soft then there is an underlying problem - this will need investigating

Toxins - the most common toxin your hen will ingest is a mycotoxin called aflatoxi, it is a produced by a mold found in corn, this is one of around 3000 mycotoxins that your bird can ingest, mycotoxins can interfere with the absorption and metabolism (use) of both calcium and Vitamin D amongst other things and this is the usual cause of deficiences when an otherwise seemingly appropriate diet is fed.

Note on above - this is for a calcuim defficient bird - an excess of calcium will KILL your bird and I do not advocate feeding limestone flour or any calcium pills to an otherwise healthy bird on a regular basis, oyster grit can be offered in a seperate pot to the feed the hen will take only what they need and the particle size means that only small amounts of calcium enter the system anyway. excessive calcium will stop the absorption of phosphorus and some otehr vital trace elements and ulimatley cause death.

Next parasites - internal and external will strain the system, internal will obviously utilise the nutritional benefits within the feed before the hen gets chance to do so - this gives you a nutritionally deficient bird!!

Management problems (not accusing you just stating causes) - insufficient or innappropriate feed is given to the hen also insufficient water, without water a hen cannot absorb many of the nutrients in the feed and they are excreted without ever entering the hens system - not going to tell you the outcome of this as you are not stupid!!!

Illness - again many illnesses can cause nutrition andphysical problems, liver problems, respiratory problesm, coccidiosis - all obvioulsy cause problems for then hen but I'm going to bypass this as you have not mentioned that she is otherwise ill.


Are you all bored now and have nodded off - lots of information to take in, but all highly likely contenders in a soft egg layer.


All of the above is only of any use if she is a soft egg layer who is then eating them because they are an easy target if she is an egg eater then it will be probably of no use what so ever. egg eating can be a deficiency in the diet, salt or vitamin d or protein are the main culprits, but it quickly turns into an unbreakable habit - then its Richmonds suggestion of doctoring an egg for her to eat

[tlck9]

Hi Bramble-poultry

Havent nodded off, thank you very much for the information.

Because I am getting three eggs and they are left in the coop from 9am- 3pm I'm assuming this is an opportunist - eg soft egg therefore easy target.

Souffle was poorly a couple of weeks back, but she perked up after giving her a bath, she started to lay, well two eggs. She was then back to her normal skittish self and has been fine since.

She hadnt laid for just under a week when this egg sack was found and the yolk was everywhere. there has been evidence of yolk on her daily since Monday

But she is not touching the other eggs

She is fed, layers pellets from small holders, and super mixed corn of a evening. she has grit and oyster shell available all day. Water- she has access to two large water which I've added a small amount of garlic in

We had red mite last week but seem to have cleared this up quite quickly

Food is always collected up of an evening and put down again in the morning

I have purchased liquid tonic this afternoon which is a vitamin and mineral tonic for the water, so I will as you suggested try this - although the shop wondered why I was even bothering, and thought I should just cull the bird

"am I being stupid trying these things, or should I just do the deed????"
She is only 26 weeks old and we've had her 7-8 weeks now - a white leghorn

If I am being soft then please tell me as I have someone that will come over and do it

They are pets as much as egg layers, but I need to make sure Im doing the right thing by all concerned

[Bramble-Poultry]

I am a real softie and I try everything before I cull a bird - perhaps a weak point of mine, but I certainly do not feel she is ready to give up on.

You may find if they are young and had mite that it may have just took a lot out of them, make sure you are keeping on top of the mite as eggs will now be hatching after your last treatment. Also try worming her, she is around the right age for worms to be becoming a problem if she has not been wormed since you had her.

Being young she may not have yet got her egg timings right and may be missing a stage in the lay cycle, but she is around the right age for a moult - is she moulting, this can really wack a birds cycles out, also she may not be in full lay she still is very young for a pure bred bird to be laying at 26 weeks she is still classed as POL.

If shes not eating the other eggs shes not and egg eater, so I suggest that the best route is to get on top of the possibility of parasites - trust me we all have them in our flocks regardless of how well we look after them, its a part of life. Add your tonics and vitamins and yes garlic is a good tonic for birds so add a little to the water but don't overdo it as it will taint the eggs. Then try increasing the calcium for a short period like I suggested, it may be that the calcuim she has taken in was used for growth and not stored for eggs - be very careful with her calcium as it will stop her taking up phosphorus which is required for her bones to grow properly and you will cause so many other problems, so do it for just 2 days and then stop for 2 and then do it for 2, or do it every other day for a week whichever suits you - see how she goes on this.