urbanhen Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 My husband let the girls out this morning and soon called me outside too! When I got outside i was shocked to see a soft shelled egg sitting under the roosting bars (our first) . My husband then opened his hand to show me a tiny nugget the size of a 1p piece dark in colour and hard ! I'm assuming the softie is Penny's because she lays early every morning! She hasn't been off colour and seems fine(other than the odd purring noises lately). I've just discovered that the hard nugget is in fact an egg and there were Buff coloured feathers on it which points to Gertie! Saying that Gertie wasn't her usual self yesterday, was in and out of the nest box like a yo yo and cackling erratically ( I put it down to the hot weather yesterday and maybe frustration on not laying! I didn't think she laid yesterday but perhaps she laid this and I overlooked it! The 3 of them are out in the garden now and all seem A ok! I provide fresh water daily, pellets, oyster grit and odd treats! Why does this happen? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Henslaved Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 I'm no expert but I believe they lay soft shelled eggs when they have a shortage of calcium or have trouble absorbing it. If they are young hens it could be just a blip in their system. As long as it's not a regular occurence I wouldn't worry, just keep an eye on them. I have had eggs like the tiny one in the past but never with a yolk, it does look rather cute . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chucky Mama Posted April 23, 2011 Share Posted April 23, 2011 It may well be a blip, I wouldn't worry too much unless it becomes a regular occurrence. Make sure they are eating a good quality mash or pellet with not too many treats. It is not always about calcium so don't supplement yet, just make sure they have access to grit although mash and pellets do pretty much everything they need to produce a good shell. Her strange behaviour yesterday would have been because she had a soft shelled egg on the way which makes them feel pretty rough. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanhen Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 From Monday on we started getting 3 (ordinary) eggs a day again! So hopefully it was just a blip in their system! Thanks for the replies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
