Thin Shelled eggs from Oldie and No Eggs from Pullet for One Month

[la babs]

Help! I've tried everything I could find on this and any other forum. Here's the deal. I have a mere three chickens, two pullets.


Issue 1

The older girl is a Legghorn, about 3 years old. She's a rescue from an egg factory. She's laying eggs w very thin or non-existence shells, almost daily. I'm afraid she's going to get peritonitis and die. I already have been through this once w her and she pulled out but her sister died egg bound.
I have (1) abundant oyster shells (which I don't think she eats): (2) mixed ground up oyster shells w her beloved yogurt (will only eat mixture in small quantities while gulping plain yogurt); (3) ground up egg shells in yogurt w same result; (4) started her on supplemental calcium (w vitamin D) by mouth (she fights like the dickens, but this seems to be working the best although now I have to force feed her--bread (no), drop on side of the mouth (no)). She doesn't much like the organic food so I'm giving her non-organic feed again. She loves foraging in the large yard, and I'm afraid that her foraging is distracting her from getting her nutrients through layer feed, etc. (She raises heck until I let her out in the morning and runs right out to forage). Suggestions, please.

She laid an egg without a shell yesterday again, after I had stopped forcing the Calcium down her. I started the Calcium again this a.m. (1000 mg diluted in pedilyte, 1/2 of which she spits out). I think I've tried everything on this forum, but may have missed something. I could use some experienced advice.


Issue 2

I have two Easter Egger pullets. They both started laying at about 32 weeks. After two weeks they both stopped laying, something I understand is normal (I also had one of my then four chickens die). One started laying again after a week. The other, now a month later, still isn't laying. Your thoughts? I have kept her in the coop to make sure she isn't hiding the eggs and also I have checked on her multiple times during the day. I haven't found a stash. Occasionally she will get into a nesting box and sit for awhile, but there's no production. She was eating the broken thin eggs from the Legghorn, but with intervention, that has stopped.

Should I just make them all stay in the coop eating what I give them until everything settles down? (of course, this will encourage Miss Nonlaying Easter Egger to eat any thin shelled eggs, a habit that I hope to have broken by distracting her w my big yard).

Thanks for your sage help!

 

[sumi]

Soft shell and shell less eggs are more common in older layers, unfortunately. If she's an ex-bat she will be nearing the end of her productive years now and may develop problems with her reproductive system. Force feeding her extra calcium is going to do more harm than good though. Offer her extra high calcium treats and oystershell free choice, she will regulate her intake as she needs it. The only way to stop a hen laying, short of letting a vet perform surgery (hysterectomy) is by reducing her daily light hours, but from my experience Leghorns will lay regardless of day length.

On the second issue. What happened to the pullet that died? If it was a traumatic experience like a predator attack it quite possibly stressed the other pullets and stopped their egg laying. Some chickens take longer to recover from a stressful event than others. And what do you mean by "until everything settles down"? What happened during the time they stopped laying?

 

[la babs]

Thank you. This is helpful, in the problem may be just iatrogenic rather than something I'm doing wrong??? It was a rescue hen that died, about 2 years old. I got two rescue ex-Bat hens (both Legghorns) in October 2012 and two pullet easter eggers in late Feb. 2013. The rescue that died, was egg bound and the egg then broke inside her.

I offer all kinds of calcium treats. As far as I can tell she won't eat them, although she will eat yogurt w a few ground up oyster shells in it. Apparently that isn't enough because her eggs are so thin shelled. That's what is perplexing. Everyone says they will self regulate, but she doesn't. So I should stop the force feed of calcium, huh? I did stop for a few days because she stopped cooperating, but then she layed an egg with no shell at all. Kind of freaked me out because I already had a chicken die from peritonitis. I already lavaged her once when she did this before, but I'm not sure it was necessary. This time she was acting weirdly for a couple of hours and then perked back up and now is running around as usual. (no eggs since, but I'm happy about that).

"til things settle down" was not very clear. What I meant is that I have one who has thin shelled eggs, that the non-laying pullet will eat if she sees and I have a non-laying pullet. Interestingly, the other pullet is laying a perfectly good egg everyday. And all the chickens appear very healthy. In fact the rescue Legghorn is growing a beautiful set of tail feathers, which were completely missing when I got her.

Everything else seems okay here. A couple of hot days in Southern California (90s). Thanks again for any advice.