NOW Who's Laying Soft Shelled Eggs???

[Aunt Angus]

It's a long story, but I'll do my best to keep it short.

5 laying ducks (Runner, Pekin, Swedish, Welshie, Saxony). They are all 1.5 years old. They share a coop, run, and foraging yard with my chickens. Just put everyone to bed, and I found a soft shelled egg in the duckies' favorite laying spot.

I switched over to layer pellets temporarily because I was worried about my ducks, who seem to need more calcium. There is also oyster free choice. I mix in nutritional yeast, too. Layer feed is a risk because I do have 2 male chickens, so I was hoping this would be a temporary situation. Of course they get fresh water every day, and I clean their pool every 1-2 days.

Welshie was laying internally, so she now has hormone implants. It's been just over 2 weeks since she got the implants, so I seriously doubt it's her.

There were 2 eggs with great shells today, so 2 of my ducks didn't lay today.

So... how do I figure out who it was who laid the soft shelled egg? They all lay similar eggs, and they all lay early early early in the morning.

And if I give them calcium tabs to the whole group (except the Welshie), will that be too much calcium for the girls who aren't having egg quality issues?

 

[Tonyroo]

Can't you set layer and flock feed in the pen?

 

[Aunt Angus]

Can't you set layer and flock feed in the pen?

I can, but there's layer in there now, and someone is still laying soft shelled eggs.

 

[Tonyroo]

You could half dose the calcium tabs on everyone that won't disrupt any hen that doesn't have the soft shell issue each day. Plus excess calcium will be pooped out.

 

[Aunt Angus]

You could half dose the calcium tabs on everyone that won't disrupt any hen that doesn't have the soft shell issue each day. Plus excess calcium will be pooped out.

I'll try that. Thanks. It's been very hard to figure out how to feed them all. I hope to separate the ducks eventually, but it just isn't possible right now.

 

[DanDi27]

You can give them some treats that have calcium too aside from oyster shells. In my experience, I used dried bsfl to help them lay eggs, not just to lay but to make their shell strong. You can try this one also if you want. I bought mine here. Also, keep that in mind that you may only give them a 10% treats, and the 90% is their regular feed.

 

[Compostflower]

Hey how was your hormone journey and how much did it cost?

 

[Aunt Angus]

Hey how was your hormone journey and how much did it cost?

It cost about $800 for everything. The implants themselves were about $500 of that. It seems to have solved the issue, but she has an appt next week to make sure everything that was in her abdomen has been passed. The hormones take a couple of weeks to really kick in, so I'm worried there's material that accumulated during that time. Her backside is still a bit distended. She may need surgery if there's anything solid still in her abdomen. Vet says that will be about $1600. But this vet is probably pretty expensive given her experience/role in the community (she's the zoo's vet). And I live in CA where it seems everything is more expensive.

But my girl is doing great! Other than the droopy bottom, she's super active and energetic. And sassy. I think all of this attention and all of the exposure to new people and places has made her bolder.

And check this out - they loved her so much at the vet that they put her on their website. Marmalade's a star! Lol

 

[Compostflower]

Wow she is a beauty ! I am going to check in after your check in too because I’m very curious about all of this.