Eggs with soft shells

[AliBlack]

One of my birds lays soft shelled eggs now and and again, the rest of the time she lays none at all, although she used to lay perfect ones, sometimes she seems off colour and quiet and won't eat for a day, a couple of times she had a bit of blood around her nares, about a year ago and then a month ago and she was quiet. I've had her 6 years.
She gets daily grit, she goes mad for it, sometimes I give her a calcium supplement, should I give it to her regularly, several times a week?
I heard about something called 'Egg drop' which produces soft shelled eggs, anyone know anything about this?
Or any advice?
Thanks!

[Birdmom4ever]

I have never heard of "egg drop." What you're describing sounds like a hen who is coming to the end of her egg-laying days, i.e. birdy menopause. A number of my roller hens have quit laying as young as four years, though others are seven or older and still laying. The progression I've seen is that they start laying less frequently and are more likely to lay soft-shelled or rough-shelled eggs. I've also observed that it seems harder for them to produce eggs, so they may look a little under the weather for a few days prioer to laying. Calcium supplements seem to help somewhat, but won't reverse the process. You can actually give them calcium supplements made for humans. Try Citracal petites, which are smaller and coated so they go down easier. Gently open the hen's beak and pop the pill in behind her tongue and she'll swallow it. I learned this from a life-long fancier.

A diseased oviduct can also cause soft-shelled eggs, though, so you might want to have her checked by an avian vet. But I think it's more likely she is going to stop laying soon.

[philodice]

In the meantime, I'd add some apple cider vinegar to her water and coloidal silver as well. Help her to get through this.

[Trees Gray]

You can put a drop of colloidal silver right down the throat in case of any kind of infection of the oviduct. It works ery effectively. Calcium supplement is prmary, though.

I would aso move her from her mate, if that is possible, if this is a case of disease or infection.

[TerriB]

Originally Posted by Birdmom4ever

...A diseased oviduct can also cause soft-shelled eggs, though, so you might want to have her checked by an avian vet...

I had this happen with an older hen who got very sick before we determined that she has a chronic infection of the egg canal. (We keep her in shape with 7 days of Clavamox every month.) If your hen starts looking poorly, it would definitely be worth a vet visit.

[AliBlack]

Thanks everyone, she seems ok at the moment, giving her regular calcium, she goes onto the nest sometimes but hasn't laid anything for several weeks.
Unsure whether to risk anaesthesia to get her checked out

[Charis]

I have several hens that are over 10 years old and still laying like crazy. You mentioned in your initial post that you sometimes give her calcium supplement. I always increase calcium for my hens several days before they lay.
Coccidia can also cause egg abnormalities. It might be a good idea to have the vet do a fecal on her to check for that and or any signs of infection.