Question for chicken experts!

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soloequestrian

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I'm fairly new to keeping chickens. I have three - an ISA Brown, a Marran and a Light Sussex. They are free range and seem very healthy and happy. For the last week or so, I've been getting a shell-less egg each day. There have been a couple over the last two months, but I've had about five days now with one each day. I'm not sure which chicken is laying the dud egg, although fairly sure it's not the Sussex because her eggs are white. When there are three eggs, all the shells are really thick - I never get an egg with a thin shell, they are either good or absent.

Anyone know what I can do about this?

Thanks in advance!
 
You do get soft shells, if you hens are free range they will be picking up grit and most feeds will have grit in them. It is one of those things and will probably sort it outself out. (we have 3 thousand free range hens)
 
One of them may be coming to the end of a laying cycle. As the nights draw in she may lay a few duff ones and then stop for the winter. Just keep an eye on their general health - it should not be a problem as long as well in themselves.
 
The calcium needed to make good egg shells is derived from the chickens own bones,so feeding grit just helps the gizzard work better.
Probably about to go off lay,so she needs all the calcium she can produce to grow her new feathers in the moult about to come.Chooks cannot produce enough calcium to grow feathers and make egg shells at the same time..so they go off lay until their new plumage is complete.
 
Thanks everyone! They get plenty of grit, so I'll assume that whichever one it is is about to moult. I'm just glad no-one has said that she is probably about to fall off her perch!
 
Grit isnt really the answer. Chickens derive very little of their calcium from it, grit is used to grind up food in the gizzard thats pretty much it but it will help them make the most of their food which helps

CDM has something when recommending oyster shell which is soluable and will supply calcium

If they are getting a really good pellet or mash they should be getting enough calcium though, if they free range consider keeping them in for part of the morning to fill up on their chicken food before they are let out

if all else fails then do resist adding more calcium to the diet beyond oyster shell as calcium supplements are a slippery slope and can make things worse, more often than not a hen is getting enough calcium but isnt able to absorb it very well, cod liver oil will enable calcium to be absorbed more efficiently and a small amount added to their pellets once a week or so would be beneficial
 
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