Yup, it takes 24 to 26 hours to form an egg. And the shell and bloom is last.
The neatest thing is to watch a hen lay an egg and catch it before it lands.

Checking the nesting boxes three times a day is great. It's about all you can do. Hopefully this will straighten out soon.

I opened an account on backyardchickens, a site I was using to gather info for building my coop. Not much input yet on the shelless eggs but there were tips on catching the egg eater if one does develop a chronic taste for them. You put mustard inside a hollow egg shell, they don't like the taste and it stains their beck to identify the culprit. I hope it doesn't come to that because the cure is culling if eating mustard doesn't deter her.

Play gloom and doom music here...

I don't feed my chickens the egg shells because I read it can cause egg eating (?) Occasionally (maybe once every 6-8 weeks) I will find yolk in the nest box, but i don't have any shell-less eggs. I do have some eggs with dimples though. I mix the oyster shell in with the feed. and yes my hens are molting (loosing feathers) alot right now, i think because of the warmer temperatures we have been having.

thanks for your input.
When I had chickens, in the 70's, feeding them back their egg shells was the only calcium supplementation they had. I never had these weird egg issues or egg eating chickens.

I may put some oyster shell into the feed dispensers even though they can eat it free choice from it's own feeder. It can't hurt anything.

I have one chicken that lays eggs with rough flecks attached to them here and there, can't be very comfy passing these things....

Yeah, but remember when the eggs pass they are rather like jello and then get firm.

We used to throw all our broken egg shells back out to 'the girls' and they fought over them. Mmmm mmmm. And they loved watermelon rinds particularly. In fact one turkey would hop onto your lap to get to it while we were sittin' and spittin'.

Seems to me that they ate broken eggs. But don't recall them ever breaking one to eat it. I dunno.

Thanks VH.

I allow the used shells to dry out and then crush and grind them with a mortar and pestle and mix it in with the oyster shell so they don't look like eggs anymore. Just in case these little bird brains make a connection.

Haven't had any shelless ones or evidence of pecked eggs or yolk anywhere since I first posted, so maybe whatever was going on isn't anymore....hope so....and yeah, watermelon is a big hit.

I will take some pictures of the smiling chickens later.

"Bird brains"...

I don't feed my chickes the shells either.. the bad thing about the egg eater is that you can't break them.. usually have to butcher or kill them.. As for the shelless egg I get them too.. it's just a "thing" they do every once in awhile.. I also get little bitty eggs with no yoke too.. this will pass (no pun intended).. hehehe
how many nests do you have and how many chickens? Chickens are stupid and they won't use the numerous boxes I have.. OH NO.. they want to lay their egg in the same nest so that causes eggs breaking too..

Good luck!

We have six nest boxes for 13 hens and they only ever want to use the end ones. Of course only if another chicken is already sitting in it. I have seen them stacked three tall and complaining.

Exactly! It's all coming back to me now.

I think it's just something you'll have to learn to live with.. I have at least 1 egg a week that is either no shell or the shell is paper thin.. then I won't have any for a couple of weeks then back to it again.. I think it's just a screw up on chemistry and grunting too hard. hehehe.. just kidding.. Seriously.. I think it just happens.. Your chickies couldn't get much happier living in "cluckingham palace".. sheesh.. makes me want to be chicken..

I have 26 babies coming up fast.. so some of the old ladies are going to have to make room.. like it or not..