What should I check if my hens are laying soft shelled eggs? | arlo.® Atlas

Read time: 3 minutes

Overview

If your hens are laying soft shelled eggs, the first things to check are their diet, access to water, age, stress levels and whether the problem is happening with one hen or the whole flock. Soft shells are fairly common and can happen for several reasons, many of them manageable at home.

It’s worth looking at the bigger picture before jumping to conclusions. Shell quality can change with laying pattern, weather, moulting, parasites, illness or a shortage of key nutrients such as calcium.

Things To Check

1. Check whether it’s one hen or several hens laying soft shelled eggs. A single hen may have an individual issue, while a flock-wide problem more often points to diet, water or housing.

2. Look at what they’re eating, including layers feed, treats and scraps. Too many extras can dilute a balanced ration and leave hens short of the nutrients they need for good shell formation.

3. Make sure fresh water is always available and easy to reach. Dehydration or limited access to water can affect laying and shell quality.

4. Check whether your hens have access to a suitable source of calcium as part of their normal management. Poor shell quality can happen when calcium intake or absorption isn’t keeping up with demand.

5. Think about age. Young hens just starting to lay and older hens can both produce occasional poor shells, especially when they’re still settling into a laying rhythm or laying less predictably.

6. Look for signs of stress in the flock, such as changes in routine, predator disturbance, bullying, overcrowding or recent housing changes. Stress can sometimes affect laying consistency.

7. Check for other signs of illness, including reduced appetite, low energy, dirty vents, lethargy, abnormal droppings or a drop in egg numbers. Soft shells alongside other changes may need more attention.

Common Causes

The most common cause is usually diet-related, especially an imbalance in calcium, vitamin D or overall feed quality. In practice, this often comes down to too many treats, not enough complete layers feed, or birds not getting access to what they need.

Water access problems are another common cause, particularly in hot weather or where drinkers are competing with each other.

Age can also play a part. Young hens may lay the occasional soft shelled egg as their system settles, and older hens may lay less consistently.

Less commonly, ongoing soft shelled eggs can be linked with stress, parasites or an underlying health issue affecting laying.

What To Do

Start by simplifying the flock’s routine. Offer a good-quality complete feed, keep treats limited, and make sure fresh water is available at all times.

Watch for a few days and note which hens are affected, how often it happens and whether the eggs are getting better or worse. That pattern can be very helpful if you need to ask for advice.

Keep housing calm, dry and clean, and reduce unnecessary changes where you can. If hens are competing for feed or water, spread resources out so every bird can access them comfortably.

If the issue is occasional and the hens otherwise seem well, it’s often reasonable to monitor closely while improving routine care.

When To Contact A Vet

Speak to a vet if soft shelled eggs keep happening despite good diet and water, or if more than one hen is affected for more than a short period. You should also get advice sooner if a hen seems unwell, stops eating, has breathing difficulty, is straining, or shows a marked drop in condition.

Products That May Help

Good coop hygiene and routine flock care can make day-to-day checks easier when you’re trying to work out why shell quality has changed.

Poultry & Smallholding

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