by Melissa Caughey of Tilly’s Nest
Have you ever wondered why sometimes your chickens lay eggs without shells? Yes, it can happen! These eggs feel like squishy bouncy balls and there are a few reasons as to why they happen. Sometimes these reasons are reversible and other times they are not. This post will take a look at the more common reasons behind these shell-less eggs.
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| Photo Credit |
Pullets Starting Laying: Sometimes, as new pullets begin to start laying, their eggs can be mis-shaped as well as without shells. The shells can be thin or missing all together. To remedy this, ensure that they are on layer feed and give it some time. With proper nutrition, often their systems just needs a bit of time to figure things out.
Lack of Calcium: Be sure that your flock has access to crushed oyster shells or crushed egg shells. To make thick egg shells, the hens need calcium.
Diet: Be sure your layers are on layer feed. They also need adequate Vitamin D.
Predators: Hens’ bodies form their eggs while they sleep. If for some reason, they are startled in the night from a predator’ visit, sometimes eggs can be laid without shells.Stress: Anytime the flock is under stress such as molting, predators, excessive temperatures, change in the flock etc.
Advanced Age: As we age, our bodies slow down. The same goes for chickens. With age comes less reliable reproductive systems, decreases in eggs and sometimes more malfunctions in the egg laying process.
Possible Medical Conditions:
- Unable to absorb dietary calcium
- Problem with the shell gland
- Illness/Sickness
- Diet too high in salt
- Egg Drop Syndrome
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| One of our most recent eggs without a shell. |
For more information on chickens, check The Chicken Manual on my blog, Tilly’s Nest.
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320 Comments
[…] Phosphorus and Calcium are important for laying hens to keep their eggshells strong. Calcium can be found in crushed oyster shells, ground aragonite, or chipped limestone. Phosphorus and calcium work hand in hand. If you have chickens that eat tons of bugs you may be fine, but you should have these available all the time but kept separate from the chicken feed. You can use phosphorus-16 or defluorinated rock phosphate. If you are having problems with soft shells or shell-less eggs, click here. […]
[…] Source […]
Thanks for help on the appearance of my first shell-less egg. (I nearly jumped out of my skin when I went to collect it!) My hens are on 17 per cent laying pellets but I’ll get some calcium supplement if necessary and also check their Vitamin D. Hopefully it was a “one of.”
Thanks for sharing. Good information… one of our son’s hens just laid her 1st egg. He said it was shellless. He appears to be doing everything right…calcium fortified food, no stress at night, etc. Now I understand better.
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I have 22 chickens hatched this spring. There is 1 Ameracauna hen that is laying 2 eggs every morning within minutes apart. 1 is large and normal with a great thick shell and much larger than the others hens that age are laying…the other is an almost shell-less egg…we can see blue color so it’s not completely shell-less but transparent and cracks / breaks if you touch it. I wasn’t sure it was her so I separated her in her own coop last night and this morning, 2 eggs again same situation. She had a head / neck / brain injury when we got her and I’m wondering if this could be why??? anyone??? She isn’t picked on by the other hens / breeds but she stays away from them and they exclude her…any suggestions?
I have 6 hen. I have been getting 2 eggs almost everyday since Memorial Day when we got our girls. I had another hen start laying last week. And This past Tuesday I had an egg with no she’ll and a tail. Today I got 3 good eggs and a shell less egg. I know we have 2 young hens and the others are just over a year old. They are on laying crumble and oyster shell. Not sure what is going on. Any suggestions
I have about 25 hens. I have had no problem for 2 yrs. All of a sudden my pet hen has been laying a shell less egg. I finally figured it out who it was when I went to see her on the shelf. There was one behind her. They get the best organic, non GMO food and oyster shells. Why is she not laying good eggs?
A new article was just posted to the website about eggshell problems. I hope there are some answers there for you.
https://www.communitychickens.com/egg-shell-problems-causes-and-cures/
I’ve been raising chickens for about 30 years and have had a few eggs with no shells but not very many. Also, I just found out yesterday that my local feed store here in rural West Virginia will be carrying organic chicken feed. We have certainly come a long way! Most people think I’m just crazy.
I came home tonight to find one of my good laying hens injured and standing perfectly still in a sheltered position. All her tail feathers were gone as were the feathers and skin on her back. We poured hydrogen peroxide on her wound and put her in a box by herself with a pan of water. Within a few hours she laid her first shell-less egg. I assume it is due to the shock of her injury. She is walking a bit and eating and drinking so I hope she’ll recover fully.
Good info! Thanks!
Knock on wood! So far I have not had shell-less eggs. sandraschwager@yahoo.com
I learn something new every day.
I followed a link on Honey Rock Dawn (The Daily Coyote) here to learn about why her hen layed an egg without a shell. I had never heard of it before.
I did figure it was some sort of calcium thing but didn’t know about special feed for when they lay (do you ease off of it in the winter?) or feeding them oyster shells or even just their own shells.
Someday I hope to own some chickens but for now I just read about them. (Dog is not a fan of chickens, well, birds of any kind. Or rodents of any kind. Or felines of any kind. So as long as he’s around, the only other thing I’ll have is fish. And sometimes he gives them the stink-eye too.)
I now have 12 hens and the 7 youngers one just started laying last week and so far no problems. Thanks for the great blog! love reading all the valuable tips!
And like the shirt a lot! LOL
That chicken reminds me a lot like mine! Interesting read and a great giveaway!