Shell/calcium issues- and now, shell-less eggs

[Juliebanning]

Try the tums for a week or two and see if it helps. This sounds exactly like my girl and the tums seemed to help. You may want to take her to your Dr because continuous soft eggs could be an infection

 

[deacons]

Thanks, Julie. I will give it a try- do you separate her from the others when giving her the Tums?

I am so thankful that I have a good avian vet around, so if this continues into next week, we'll schedule an appt.

 

[Mulberry]

Hi, just want to say she May need calcium, and a
few little stones ( gravel) or crush up dryer eggshells for very fine pieces almost powder
or you can even give her snail shells I always give them natural supplements instead of chemicals. For me the eggshell worked best! Good luck

 

[Juliebanning]

Thanks, Julie. I will give it a try- do you separate her from the others when giving her the Tums?

I am so thankful that I have a good avian vet around, so if this continues into next week, we'll schedule an appt.

I did at first just while I was giving it to make sure she got it she eats them fine without hiding it in anything now but at first I had to wrap the pieces in bread hope it helps

 

[Mulberry]

Hi, the problem definitely not the overeating outside. Maybe the problem that they always coopet up and not getting enough vitamins and calcium. Free rangeing would not hurt a chicken. However I went to my neighbour she is like 76 and lives on a nearby farm she told me it's maybe calcium if your chiken doesn't pick up oystershells try the powder version on it, one more think she said she put a little vinegar in the drinking water and that's should clear her out. Alternatively take her to your vet and they can work they magic.
Hope she will start laying eggs very soon.

 

[aart]

Hi, the problem definitely not the overeating outside. Maybe the problem that they always coopet up and not getting enough vitamins and calcium. Free rangeing would not hurt a chicken. However I went to my neighbour she is like 76 and lives on a nearby farm she told me it's maybe calcium if your chiken doesn't pick up oystershells try the powder version on it, one more think she said she put a little vinegar in the drinking water and that's should clear her out. Alternatively take her to your vet and they can work they magic.
Hope she will start laying eggs very soon.

I've read that vinegar can block calcium absorption.

 

[Xtineart]

lots of things can cause it and most hens will self regulate as long as there is plenty balanced feed plus shell and grit available. When I was having egg issues in the summer (probably caused by the heat) I did try the commercial additives but the hens simply wouldn't drink the funny pink or green water and drink puddle slime instead, what did work for me was giving them a smallish bowl of oat milk with added calcium and vitamin d (from the health food store, meant for humans) and they absolutely loved the stuff, drinking it all up. A short time of giving them that and they actually went the other way and laid eggs with calcium deposits over the outer shell, so I cut it back and now it's a treat a couple of times a week instead.

 

[Mulberry]

I never new that, here in Europe we done this for years, I will have a good research about it today. Maybe learned something new.

 

[Toddrick]

Have you considered trying a different brand layer feed?

 

[deacons]

Have you considered trying a different brand layer feed?

No, I'm pretty happy with what I use right now. The widespread problems seem to have let up (I'm going to go with the explanation that they had experienced a stressful attempted hawk attack not long before). On the Barred Rock, I think it is an individual problem that I'll have to continue to monitor, but she's seemed ok since the last time I posted- though hasn't laid (which is perfectly fine with me).