Calcium deficiency?

[PeachyPeckers]

My BR is about 17 months old, so over 1 year old. For the past month or 2 she has been laying eggs with dark spot on the top (or bottom?). Sometimes the spot is bigger and sometimes it's smaller. Sometimes the eggs are very pale and the dark spot is really noticeable. Sometimes the egg has good color and the spot is barely noticeable. See Picture.

I have been struggling to get her to eeatdried crushed egg or oyster shells. She used to eat the egg shells but I noticed that she is snubbing the egg AND oyster shells. She won't even take any from my hand. She doesn't want to eat the Calcium supplements I geuss? I didnt really think anything of it because I assumed if she needs it she'll eat it.

Yesterday she laid a soft shell egg and the shell was all cracked immediately after it was laid. The shell feels like mushy.
See picture.

I crushed up a tums and feed to her in some mash up fresh blueberries. She was hesitant but I got her to eat it from my hand. She normally loves blueberries.

Last night in her sleep, she laid another soft shell. I came out this morning to find the egg broken under the roosting bars.

Is there anything I can do for her? Maybe more tums? How much should I giver her? What would cause that dark spot and discoloration of the egg? I have egg shells and oyster shells out as free choice but she just refuses to eat it. My other chickens are coming into laying age and I see the eating the shells all the time.

Could it be something else and not a calcium deficiency? What else can I give her for calcium?

 

[Eggcessive]

Tums is calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is fine to use, but the calcium citrate is more easily absorbed. Calf rate is a brand name of calcium citrate. Reading labels helps. Aim for around 600 mg of calcium daily for a 4-6 pound hen and above. A bantam would get about 200 mg. The vitamin D is helpful in the tablets. I would not worry about dyes and flavors in the Tums since they are good for humans. For a hen laying shell-less eggs I would treat for a week. For an egg bound chicken, I would give it once a day until she lays. Same for a prolapsed vent, until it goes inside.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Tums is o.k. if that's what you have.
If you find that she seems suspicious and won't eat it on her own, then just cut the Tums in half, pull down on her wattles, pop 1/2 into her beak and let her swallow. Then repeat with the other 1/2.

The oyster shell you have pictured previously is fine, just put it out free choice and they will usually take what they need.

While you are giving her the extra calcium for a few days, look her over for lice/mites and see if she may be starting to molt.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm not sure if the oyster crushed or flakes, i don't know the difference and the package doesn't say.

You have flaked oyster shell, which is my preference.

Given the issue with the eggs being weak in one spot, not sure if calcium will actually fix it as it could be a shelling gland issue. But it wouldn't hurt giving her consistent doses of calcium citrate for 1-2 weeks and seeing if it helps. And yes it's as simple as popping open their beaks and shoving the whole pill in (since not all hens have pronounced wattles).

 

[aart]

I think that spot on the egg is just a shell gland glitch.
They will stop laying before feathers start to drop.
You can get some funky eggs during that time.

 

[PeachyPeckers]

You have flaked oyster shell, which is my preference.

Given the issue with the eggs being weak in one spot, not sure if calcium will actually fix it as it could be a shelling gland issue. But it wouldn't hurt giving her consistent doses of calcium citrate for 1-2 weeks and seeing if it helps. And yes it's as simple as popping open their beaks and shoving the whole pill in (since not all hens have pronounced wattles).

I had to use a dropper to give corid to a pullet a couple of months ago and that wattle trick would have been so useful! Haha i had to drop alittle on her beak and wait for her to open her mouth alittle bit and shot the dropper in. Lol it was a huge pain.

 

[aart]

Well she is right at first molt age, and my other hen started molting last month. She just suddenly stopped laying though, there weren't any weird eggs though so I wasn't expecting that. Lol molting behavior is so strange to me, I'm always convinced that they are dying or have some other horrible disease.

I thought this thread was about a some strange eggs(the brown spots and the broken egg)? Then she stopped laying.
Molt time.
No need for scrambling for calcium supplements.

Every bird is different, and can come into and out of lay differently each year.
Takes time, for the keeper, to adjust to these things.

 

[PeachyPeckers]

I thought this thread was about a some strange eggs(the brown spots and the broken egg)? Then she stopped laying.
Molt time.
No need for scrambling for calcium supplements.

Every bird is different, and can come into and out of lay differently each year.
Takes time, for the keeper, to adjust to these things.

Well I think I confused everyone, my other hen stopped laying. My andalusian is the one that just suddenly stopped laying and then started molting.
My BR was having these dark spots on her eggs for a month and she refused to eat and free choice calcium supplements.
Then on Saturday within the course of 24 hours, she laid 2 very mushy, soft shelled eggs... this is mostly my concern but I wanted to give the entire history of the eggs in case there's something else going on. She keeps going to the nesting box several times a day like she needs to lay but nothing has come out yesterday or today. Maybe molt, maybe not, idk!

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I found bone meal at Chewy.com. You could try Petco, Walmart or your local farm store.

I'd stick with oyster shell.


J/S....This is not bone meal....

 

[rosemarythyme]

I tried crushing the oyster and egg shells finer but she refuses to eat any calcium supplement.

I don't understand why she is refusing all of the calcium supplements that I offer.

Don't do powder and don't give her an option to refuse, push calcium citrate tablets or pills, whole, into her mouth. Until you force her to take consistent doses you won't have an answer if this is a calcium deficiency or a shelling gland issue. If it's the latter there is no real fix for it, but at least you'll know for sure that adding calcium won't make a difference.