Hello BYC friends,
I have a 6-year old Ameraucana/Easter Egger who has been an intermittent layer the last couple of years. She laid a few eggs earlier this spring and nothing for several weeks. Then she laid one nice little egg last week (with a very dark yolk).
Today, I noticed she was terribly thirsty when I got them up, to the point she had water coming back up out of her beak when she was eating. Her crop was soft and squishy this morning but I got a bit of coconut oil into her in case she was backed up somewhere along the line. She had normal energy and appetite all day and was passing poops.
When I went to close my chickens up tonight, I found a very soft-shelled egg under her. I'm sure having passed it will have her feeling better tomorrow. I'm wondering if I should give her a calcium pill?
My flock is on 18% layer pellet and have free choice oyster shells. I also give them a small amount of BOSS.
No other issues with soft-shelled eggs this year (I had some a couple of years ago when I think I had IB go through my flock).
I'm just wondering if supplemental calcium is indicated, or if I should just watch her for a couple of days to see if it was a blip.
Thanks.
I have a 6-year old Ameraucana/Easter Egger who has been an intermittent layer the last couple of years. She laid a few eggs earlier this spring and nothing for several weeks. Then she laid one nice little egg last week (with a very dark yolk).
Today, I noticed she was terribly thirsty when I got them up, to the point she had water coming back up out of her beak when she was eating. Her crop was soft and squishy this morning but I got a bit of coconut oil into her in case she was backed up somewhere along the line. She had normal energy and appetite all day and was passing poops.
When I went to close my chickens up tonight, I found a very soft-shelled egg under her. I'm sure having passed it will have her feeling better tomorrow. I'm wondering if I should give her a calcium pill?
My flock is on 18% layer pellet and have free choice oyster shells. I also give them a small amount of BOSS.
No other issues with soft-shelled eggs this year (I had some a couple of years ago when I think I had IB go through my flock).
I'm just wondering if supplemental calcium is indicated, or if I should just watch her for a couple of days to see if it was a blip.
Thanks.
