What can I do to improve the quality of the egg shells from my hens? They eat layer feed, which they have access to all day, plus they get many days of free ranging on my land (about 3-5 days a week they are let out to roam for hours). I also feed them food scraps now and then and we bring them choice treats like bugs my kids find. Lol
They also have free access to grit and oyster shell, plus occasional egg shells feed back to them.
However I've noticed the qualify of the eggs is declining and I can't figure out why. I've had one consistent layer who lays a gnarly, lumpy egg with sandy bits all over it. Sometimes the shell is really soft. The white is always watery. I always toss that egg (can't figure out who is laying it either).
Then my Welsummer seems to have problems with the sandy stuff all over her egg and the color of the egg is never consistent or "clean" looking. It's always splotchy.
Now for a new twist it seems that another hen (or maybe 2) has been laying one of those teeny tiny eggs that some people call fart eggs. We've had 2 of those this month.
And lastly, I've noticed several of the eggs are starting to show irregular shapes with ridges, or super long oval shapes, or really, really round eggs where you can't tell which end is the air pocket.
All of the hens seem healthy. They are about 1 year old. Always have fresh water. Clean coop. Large run even for days they don't free-range. I haven't changed their main feed.
Some of them had major feather loss on their backs over the end of winter from a rooster who is now gone, but no other health issues. They haven't molted that I can tell. When will that happen? Will it help their eggs when they finally molt?
They also have free access to grit and oyster shell, plus occasional egg shells feed back to them.
However I've noticed the qualify of the eggs is declining and I can't figure out why. I've had one consistent layer who lays a gnarly, lumpy egg with sandy bits all over it. Sometimes the shell is really soft. The white is always watery. I always toss that egg (can't figure out who is laying it either).
Then my Welsummer seems to have problems with the sandy stuff all over her egg and the color of the egg is never consistent or "clean" looking. It's always splotchy.
Now for a new twist it seems that another hen (or maybe 2) has been laying one of those teeny tiny eggs that some people call fart eggs. We've had 2 of those this month.
And lastly, I've noticed several of the eggs are starting to show irregular shapes with ridges, or super long oval shapes, or really, really round eggs where you can't tell which end is the air pocket.
All of the hens seem healthy. They are about 1 year old. Always have fresh water. Clean coop. Large run even for days they don't free-range. I haven't changed their main feed.
Some of them had major feather loss on their backs over the end of winter from a rooster who is now gone, but no other health issues. They haven't molted that I can tell. When will that happen? Will it help their eggs when they finally molt?
