Advice request: Flock on New Country Organics Corn-Free Layer but some chickens w/ recurring Soft/Thin Shell Eggs

[BlueEcho]

Hi all! Looking for advice or to see if anyone else has had a similar situation and advice on next steps. (Probably more details than needed below)

Feeding Details:
Our flock has been eating New Country Organics Corn/Soy Free Layer. Been buying a month's supply from a local reseller since last May/June. We also give oyster shell and grit free choice.

Occasional treats include - Grubterra soldier fly larvae (no more than 8 oz across the flock per day, 3-5 times per week), Scrambled eggs (about 9 eggs across the flock or less weekly), Kitchen scraps (usually slightly wilted herbs or spinach leaves 1x week if that currently, will likely increase as garden grows but I look up what is safe to share with the girls)

Background Info:
Since start of spring we have been seeing some intermittent laying issues. My partner and I are wondering if maybe this is something diet change can help improve. Most girls are laying well but we are seeing some reoccurring issues with thin/soft shell eggs.

We had one girl (whiting true blue) treated by a vet after passing a soft shell membrane and possibly broken egg. She recovered for a month or two before passing without us noticing any symptoms (RIP Hawk <3).

Narrowed down a specific Andalusian who has been laying soft shell eggs off and on (coincided soft shell eggs with days she seems "not herself" over the past 3 months + collected eggs early today while monitoring and saw she was the soft shell egg layer)

Otherwise apart from some eggs that seem "thinner" and not tied to any chicken acting abnormal the rest of the flock is doing well. My partner and I are debating whether it is the food quality vs specific metabolism of certain chickens giving them trouble. We do set up multiple feeders to minimize bullying. We also check on the food level a couple times a day and refill if needed.


More details:
Mixed flock from McMurray Hatchery ~ 1 yr old:
3 Buff Orpingtons
4 Rhode Island/New Hampshire Reds
4 Wyandottes (2 silver laced, 2 columbian)
3 Andalusians
2 Anconas
2 Domoniques
2 Delawares
2 Black Stars
2 Bielefelders
1 Whiting True Blue

 

[rosemarythyme]

Since you know which bird specifically is having issues I'd try supplementing her directly with calcium citrate tablets. Depending on her laying frequency start with daily or every other day doses, and see if that helps with the shelling issue. If it does you can ease back on the frequency and see if you can maintain shell quality on a lower dosage.

 

[Ridgerunner]

When I have an issue like this I try to determine if it is an individual hen issue or a flockwide problem. The part about " some eggs that seem "thinner" and not tied to any chicken acting abnormal" bothers me a bit. I don't know if that is extensive enough to be a flockwide problem.

Looking at the analysis of that feed it seems OK but it is not a ground-up feed with the parts put back together like crumbles or pellets. It is still in its individual grains or parts. With different specific gravities it could separate into different components or a specific hen may only want to eat specific parts so their diet may not be quite as balanced as you'd want. One way around that is to feed different times of the day and only enough feed at a time that they can immediately clean it up. Make sure each hen has room at the feeder so some don't get bullied away while another hen eats her part.

The calcium content of the feed is good if that feed is all that they eat but it is not. You offer treats on the side so that dilutes the benefit of the calcium in the feed. By offering oyster shell on the side you've taken care of that problem.

I think it is an individual hen problem. Either her body is not processing the calcium she eats properly or her eating habits don't get enough calcium to start with. Just because the huge majority of hens will eat enough oyster shell to fulfill their calcium needs doesn't mean every one will.

I can't offer any better advice than Rosemary's. Determine which hen is a problem and supplement her with calcium. It might fix the problem, it might not.

 

[BlueEcho]

Since you know which bird specifically is having issues I'd try supplementing her directly with calcium citrate tablets. Depending on her laying frequency start with daily or every other day doses, and see if that helps with the shelling issue. If it does you can ease back on the frequency and see if you can maintain shell quality on a lower dosage.

Thank you for the advice. Gave Wednesday (the hen in question) a calcium citrate tablet today. She's on the flightier side and seems to get stressed easily, so we'll start with every other day for now and keep an eye on her laying habits.

When I have an issue like this I try to determine if it is an individual hen issue or a flockwide problem. The part about " some eggs that seem "thinner" and not tied to any chicken acting abnormal" bothers me a bit. I don't know if that is extensive enough to be a flockwide problem.

Looking at the analysis of that feed it seems OK but it is not a ground-up feed with the parts put back together like crumbles or pellets. It is still in its individual grains or parts. With different specific gravities it could separate into different components or a specific hen may only want to eat specific parts so their diet may not be quite as balanced as you'd want. One way around that is to feed different times of the day and only enough feed at a time that they can immediately clean it up. Make sure each hen has room at the feeder so some don't get bullied away while another hen eats her part.

The calcium content of the feed is good if that feed is all that they eat but it is not. You offer treats on the side so that dilutes the benefit of the calcium in the feed. By offering oyster shell on the side you've taken care of that problem.

I think it is an individual hen problem. Either her body is not processing the calcium she eats properly or her eating habits don't get enough calcium to start with. Just because the huge majority of hens will eat enough oyster shell to fulfill their calcium needs doesn't mean every one will.

I can't offer any better advice than Rosemary's. Determine which hen is a problem and supplement her with calcium. It might fix the problem, it might not.

Thanks for the detailed advice. Definitely have seen the feed separating based on particle size. We don't currently ferment or make the feed into mash but looking through some other forum threads on the brand that seems to be common advice so we'll try that too.

Started Wednesday (the hen who laid a soft shell) on calcium tablets today and will continue keeping an eye on the flock.

Out of 25 hens we have been getting ~ 17 eggs on average daily and 3-4 thin/soft shell eggs per month (daily logs/notes are an effort but so worth it to help spot issues). Appreciate the advice

 

[ChaosMom]

Thank you for the advice. Gave Wednesday (the hen in question) a calcium citrate tablet today. She's on the flightier side and seems to get stressed easily, so we'll start with every other day for now and keep an eye on her laying habits.


Thanks for the detailed advice. Definitely have seen the feed separating based on particle size. We don't currently ferment or make the feed into mash but looking through some other forum threads on the brand that seems to be common advice so we'll try that too.

Started Wednesday (the hen who laid a soft shell) on calcium tablets today and will continue keeping an eye on the flock.

Out of 25 hens we have been getting ~ 17 eggs on average daily and 3-4 thin/soft shell eggs per month (daily logs/notes are an effort but so worth it to help spot issues). Appreciate the advice

Fermenting is great for getting everything eaten. I finally bought a hanging feeder and dumped the remainder of the bag in their so that they had access to food all day; also for the sake of any chicken-sitters.

Sure enough, the little granules of vitamins, minerals, and whatnot remain uneaten. I’m just adding them to the one meal a day I now ferment, so they’re getting it.

 

[My Very First 6 Chickens]

When I have an issue like this I try to determine if it is an individual hen issue or a flockwide problem. The part about " some eggs that seem "thinner" and not tied to any chicken acting abnormal" bothers me a bit. I don't know if that is extensive enough to be a flockwide problem.

Looking at the analysis of that feed it seems OK but it is not a ground-up feed with the parts put back together like crumbles or pellets. It is still in its individual grains or parts. With different specific gravities it could separate into different components or a specific hen may only want to eat specific parts so their diet may not be quite as balanced as you'd want. One way around that is to feed different times of the day and only enough feed at a time that they can immediately clean it up. Make sure each hen has room at the feeder so some don't get bullied away while another hen eats her part.

The calcium content of the feed is good if that feed is all that they eat but it is not. You offer treats on the side so that dilutes the benefit of the calcium in the feed. By offering oyster shell on the side you've taken care of that problem.

I think it is an individual hen problem. Either her body is not processing the calcium she eats properly or her eating habits don't get enough calcium to start with. Just because the huge majority of hens will eat enough oyster shell to fulfill their calcium needs doesn't mean every one will.

I can't offer any better advice than Rosemary's. Determine which hen is a problem and supplement her with calcium. It might fix the problem, it might not.

I use this exact feed New Country Organics, corn and soy free. It has texture so they do seem to only eat the seed parts I since starting fermenting it. It helps, although, they still don't eat the peas (protein part). I supplement with real cooked meat every other week......no issues with soft eggs. My girls are 4 years old. I just recently switched to an All Flock crumble feed. They are MAD at me but oh well! I also dry out all used egg shells and leave in run. Calcium pill to the soft layer......Good luck

 

[arazla]

So glad to have landed on this thread. I also use New Country Organics and am noticing a huge increase in soft shelled eggs lately. We have been using New Country's broiler feed for more than 6 months, maybe even a year? (I'm terrible when it comes to tracking time) with free choice oyster shell on the side. Since I was seeing more soft-shelled eggs than usual, like several per month, I decided to buy 1 bag of broiler and 1 bag of LAYER. We usually make an All-flock mash or ferment (nutrena) for breakfast. Lately I've been serving Layer for lunch and then broiler for dinner (I know, they're spoiled, but it helps me get them in and out of free ranging in between work sessions as I work at home). We have 28 hens and 6 roosters. They are mostly around 2 years old. Now, suddenly I'm seeing 3-5 soft shelled eggs a day!!!

I don't want to highjack the thread, but also wanted to add my experience in the interest of collecting data. Here are the other factors that may be at play, which I can repost in a new thread if advised.
1. It was an extremely hot day yesterday, though NOT today. I understand dehydration can play a role. We do have multiple waterers like EVERYWHERE.
2. My most recent batch of oyster shell seems DIFFERENT. Like it's almost whole shells and not really "flaked" as advertised.
3. The roosters have been separated alternately in both my main flocks due to over-mating and trying to gradually start a bachelor pad, but they all have various grudges with each other, so it's not going that well, and while I'm trying or reduce stress on my girls, it may actually be causing MORE stress? The flock with more soft shelled eggs just had their main roo pulled and I think they all really miss him, not to mention all the roos stand crying all day outside the gates even though they can't see the girls (per recommendations for bachelor pads).
4. I had a rescue turkey that recently died from internal laying (I did my own autopsy, so could be wrong, but she was struggling with laying a long time and it looked like all the pictures) and a factory bred, very sickly Azur blue that has suddenly stopped laying altogether and she's only supposed to be two years old. From what I ready peritonitis can be caused by an underlying infection, but the local farm vet didn't seem to think that was a possibility.
5. I usually dole out 5-6 eggs per week between both flocks, but upped that lately since I was worried they weren't getting enough calcium. My partner has been away for family stuff, but he also used to dole out a lot of meat scraps so they haven't had that for a long time. I try to give out some finely chopped veggies 4-6 times per week. I probably give them too many Black fly larvae and black oil sunflower sees to get them into the runs when I'm in a rush to leave the house, etc. but it's not a new habit.