Love my chooks but we have soft eggs or no eggs!

[JuggleBum]

3 hybrid hens became 2 last year when one died of a prolapse :( now the other two ( who are about 3 years old) have been laying erratically for about 6 weeks. Recently if we have any eggs at all they are soft shelled.

I miss my lovely boiled eggs, shop ones are not the same! Does anyone have advice?

How free range are the chooks? All egg layers need lots of grit/oyster shell available...
That is one reason perhaps for the soft shell eggs, the other could be that they are just coming to the end of their egg laying careers...3 years old is getting on a bit in terms of peak egg production....

Can I ask what breeds they are hybrids of? If they are quiet and gentle then you might get away with introducing some POL new talent...

Mine free range most of the time and I rarely give extra grit ,they seem to manage OK.I have sometimes given a calcium supplement in their water.
What do you feed normally,I am quite fussy about layers pellets

I'm assuming that you're providing oyster shell for them. Maybe try changing the food? I found the Farmgate Layers Pellets to be very good in terms of egg quality, certainly when compared to the Smallholder Range ones.

Other than that, yes, they are getting on a bit in egg laying terms. It's unusual that they have both just suddenly started to have the same problem at the same time. Did they take a long break over winter? If so, it could just be that they're settling back into egg production in a rather cackhanded way, and it will resolve itself given time.

At 3 years old they are both getting towards the end of their laying life.

I found giving a pinch of Nutribal supplement on a grape half every day worked in a younger hen.

My Silkie's have layers pellets porridge, meal worm and popcorn. They lay about 5 eggs a week each, they don't have grit.

Thanks for all your advice much appreciated! They are a Black Rock and a Light Sussex. The Black Rock is very docile but the Sussex is a bit feisty and totally barmy with it! They have the complete run of my garden and small patch of woodland so should be fine for grit I've never had to give anything in the past. Always give layers pellets tho have changed brand recently from organic when it was unavailable. Could this contribute do you think? WhAt suggestions do people have for POL to add to the flock? I could get another 2 or possibly 3.

We have a Welsummer who lays the most fantastic eggs and is beautiful,a Speckledy who is now 3.5 and still laying every other day,a coral star who is a white hybrid(ds3 wanted a white hen!)who did lay nice large white eggs but is now very unreliable and a skyline who lays very pretty green eggs but which don't compare to the Welsummer or Speckledy eggs for flavour .So i would go for a Speckledy if you want a hybrid or a Welsummer,we did also have a bluebell and she laid nice eggs but was very unfriendly!

Thanks will look at speckeldy and welsummer :)

I used to have geese and we would give them egg shells to eat, which did the trick.

Try worming them. Flubenvet is the best thing to use imo.

Welsummers are my favourite breed too (I've had Sussex, Orpingtons, Wyandottes & Araucana X as well). Hardy, subtly pretty, friendly and good layers, they're everything that I want in a productive pet chicken.