- Jun 9, 2013
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Hi! have Australorps 4-females, 1 rooster, 3yrs old agv 12 eggs ea per year? 92% hatching! no trouble with my other fowls??? Regards squzzi
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Soft eggs are generally a sign of low or lack of calcium in the diet, but not always! In order to obsorb calcium the animal also needs high levels of folate and vitamin D. Which is why soft eggs are often a problem at this time of year in Australia - greens are only just starting to come through in any quantity (and by greens I mean good quality greens - not high oxalate greens like kikuya) and sunlight hours are at a mininum.hi everyone, a question for those more experienced than I.
Of my 5 hens only two are laying at the moment (the two youngest, of course) -
the problem is that although one is back to laying well - 1 egg most days, the second one is laying occasionally
and her eggs have very soft shells which split, before I collect them. The shell is like a papery casing.
I remove this as soon as I see it.
I've had only one egg from her that had a shell firm enough to hold, but the shell was fragile all the same.
All my hens roost and free range together and get fed together so I don't know what is causing the difference in
the eggs of the two chooks
By the way, they are the same age.
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thanks in advance
I live in the Dandenong Ranges and it gets darned cold up here for sure. below zero this morning. I cover my 4 chickens up to the best of my ability after they've gone to bed, mainly with tarps fixed on with pegs to the wire - with a small area that's open for ventilation.Thought I would say hi - am new to BYC, and quite new to keeping chickens. I have 2 Australorps and one Isa Brown. I'm in Australia - live in Melbourne. Just one question for other Melbourne people - when it's frosty (like this morning) are the chickens ok? Do they need any additional heating?
yes definitely agree with giving them their eggs back. weak eggshells mean they're not getting enough calcium - just because they're in the same environment, doesn't mean they all eat the same - i mix a little bit of shell grit in with their food as well as some of them are better at pecking the egg shells than others
If you are going to give your chickens their own eggs shells back - they should be 'baked' for a good while in the oven to kill off any nasties that can accumulate after they've been broken open for your use, and left aside. After they cool down, grind them up into the smallest of bits - using a mortar and pestle and give to them in with their food or in a separate bowl. They will eat what they need. I have read that if larger pieces of their own shells are given, they might well begin to think the eggs they lay are for the taking as well - and start pecking at them to eat, which is not something that can be stopped easily, once started.
I keep two 'dummy' eggs in with my chickens at all times, and they have never had a go at eating their own eggs except on one occasion when one egg was laid with a very soft shell and stood on or broken. I feed my chickens Barastoc's Golden Yolk layer pellets - and that has a lot of calcium in it which is needed. I also feed them as much greenery as possible during the winter months ( mostly silver beet which I buy, and grass which I pick from the front garden ) - mainly to keep them from being bored and irritable because their run is dirt or mud with nothing much in it. They get plenty of grit for their crops from the ground. So far - the two hens who are still laying even though it's winter, still produce extremely hard shelled eggs. My other two chickens are moulting heavily and have stopped laying for the moment. I am getting about 10 eggs a week from my two faithful and hard working layers ( a Welsummer and a Rhode Island Red ). The chooks who are moulting are an Araucana ( bantam ) and a Barnevelder ( between bantam and standard size ).
Cheers ....
hello MyHaven, thanks for reply -Do you give them shell grit or their shells back? I noticed in the new posts on the home page one about improving the quality of the shells. I'd start there if I was you. Sry I don't know how to put in a link from my mobile.
Cheers
thanks tillyitaSoft eggs are generally a sign of low or lack of calcium in the diet, but not always! In order to obsorb calcium the animal also needs high levels of folate and vitamin D. Which is why soft eggs are often a problem at this time of year in Australia - greens are only just starting to come through in any quantity (and by greens I mean good quality greens - not high oxalate greens like kikuya) and sunlight hours are at a mininum.
To improve the quality of the egg shells - add calcium carbonate to the area where they eat (either in the form of shell grit or as crushed limestone), they will peck it up with their food. Add sprouts of any sort (alfalfa and/or bean/pea sprouts are particularly good as they are also high in protein) and maximize the amount of time they spend outside (in the sun) during the day - as this will increase the amount of vitamin D to help convert the calcium into a usable form.
It could just be a genetic thing and not environmental. Even sisters of any species aren't going to produce the same. I haven't seen a papery thin egg shell for many years and that came from an old chook. Maybe one has a problem absorbing calcium. I found this website on another post which might help http://www.avianweb.com/eggproblems.html but if you are feeding and housing them well and letting them free range As you describe I am at a loss. Maybe soy meal for more protein as well as calcium. You say 1 is back laying well? What do you mean, did they stop? And you say the one with the soft shells is laying occasionally. How often is that?hello MyHaven, thanks for reply -yes they do get shell grit - it's mixed in with their organic feed and they roam around their yard all day. I will try drying and crushing some of their own shells and give back to them. What i don't understand is why from two hens, same age, same conditions, one is producing eggs with strong shells and the other is producing papery shells??![]()
Hi! have Australorps 4-females, 1 rooster, 3yrs old agv 12 eggs ea per year? 92% hatching! no trouble with my other fowls??? Regards squzzi