kajlbw Posted April 18, 2014 Share Posted April 18, 2014 Evening all, My 6 hens have been laying 1 egg per day for a few weeks now, but I've just been to put them to bed and found a broken, soft shelled egg on the grass just outside the coop. Any ideas why this would happen, especially as they have all laid 1 normal egg each every day for ages. I thought they could only lay 1 egg per day or is it possible to lay 1 normal and then a softy every now and then? Thanks for any advice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 The softy is an early egg Kajlbw, expelled before the shell was formed, so you will only get 5 today, probably. Sometimes they lay two in a day but it is very rare. More likely they laid one early due to fright or excitement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jjiande Posted April 19, 2014 Share Posted April 19, 2014 Lottie used to lay a lot of softies for the first few months she was laying. She once managed four in one day - and was very under the weather while it was happening (I thought we were losing her ). I posted here and got a lot of support which was helpful. It all seemed to sort itself out as she got older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajlbw Posted April 20, 2014 Author Share Posted April 20, 2014 Thankyou both for your replies. Hopefully it'll be a one off. My son collected the eggs this morning and came back with one that had been broken into, the contents were still there but it looks like one of the girls has been having a nibble I'll have to try and get to the eggs early tomorrow and hopefully it won't become a habit. I gave them roasted egg shell yesterday, but it was really well crushed up. I'm wondering if this is just a coincidence, they've had it before with no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beantree Posted April 21, 2014 Share Posted April 21, 2014 Fingers crossed it doesn't become a habit Kajlbw. It is a very difficult habit to break and I have heard of poultry keepers culling them all and starting again. Pot eggs has worked well for us. Rollaway nest boxes can be difficult to install and eggs filled with mustard they can like, which then fuels the habit rather than breaking it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kajlbw Posted April 25, 2014 Author Share Posted April 25, 2014 Well so far so good, I've been collecting the eggs early and I've either caught the culprit before she gets the chance to have a nibble or she's decided not to bother. Got a massive egg today as well, double yolker for breakfast tomorrow me thinks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
