- Mar 22, 2013
- 34
- 0
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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!
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).
