Calcium deficiency?

[ShrekDawg]

Tums is calcium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is fine to use, but the calcium citrate is more easily absorbed. Calf rate is a brand name of calcium citrate. Reading labels helps. Aim for around 600 mg of calcium daily for a 4-6 pound hen and above. A bantam would get about 200 mg. The vitamin D is helpful in the tablets. I would not worry about dyes and flavors in the Tums since they are good for humans. For a hen laying shell-less eggs I would treat for a week. For an egg bound chicken, I would give it once a day until she lays. Same for a prolapsed vent, until it goes inside.

Very useful info! And thanks for correcting me on the Tums thing. I think I’ll save this page so I have it for future reference.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

Tums is o.k. if that's what you have.
If you find that she seems suspicious and won't eat it on her own, then just cut the Tums in half, pull down on her wattles, pop 1/2 into her beak and let her swallow. Then repeat with the other 1/2.

The oyster shell you have pictured previously is fine, just put it out free choice and they will usually take what they need.

While you are giving her the extra calcium for a few days, look her over for lice/mites and see if she may be starting to molt.

 

[PeachyPeckers]

Tums is o.k. if that's what you have.
If you find that she seems suspicious and won't eat it on her own, then just cut the Tums in half, pull down on her wattles, pop 1/2 into her beak and let her swallow. Then repeat with the other 1/2.

The oyster shell you have pictured previously is fine, just put it out free choice and they will usually take what they need.

While you are giving her the extra calcium for a few days, look her over for lice/mites and see if she may be starting to molt.

That pulling down wattles trick would have come in handy so many times! I never knew you could just do that to get them to open their beak.

She ate another crushed tums today that I mashed into fresh blueberries (beforeIknew the wattle trick!). She doesn't like it, I can tell that but she ate it off my fingers. I give all of the egg shells, oyster and grit free choice. She used to love eating egg shells from my hand but she doesn't want any of that stuff now. She doesn't touch the free choice options, I see others eating it.

I have another hen that started molting last month, i thought she had lice or mites and I checked everyone thoroughly several times. I don't think the BR has anything like that, I've looked her over and over. She is at molting age though, but I haven't seen any feather piles from her as I saw with my other hen.

I checked her vent and it looks normal, I don't see any peices of eggs. I haven't seen her poops so I don't know what those look like right now. But she did go to the nesting box 3 times today and sat for like 20 minutes each time. Idk if she is trying to push something out? I am very worried about her but she seems fine otherwise. She's eating and drinking and foraging, also still comes running for treats.

 

[rosemarythyme]

I'm not sure if the oyster crushed or flakes, i don't know the difference and the package doesn't say.

You have flaked oyster shell, which is my preference.

Given the issue with the eggs being weak in one spot, not sure if calcium will actually fix it as it could be a shelling gland issue. But it wouldn't hurt giving her consistent doses of calcium citrate for 1-2 weeks and seeing if it helps. And yes it's as simple as popping open their beaks and shoving the whole pill in (since not all hens have pronounced wattles).

 

[MontanaLady]

You can also try bone meal to boost calcium & protein in your hen. I believe its 1 tsp added to mashed pellet feed 2-3x/wk. you can also give greek plain yogurt. The probiotics & calcium would be good for her. Just limit how much yogurt u give because it can cause diarrhea.
I bought oyster shells (small pebble size). My girls were not taking to them well so i took a handful, laid a towel over it & hit them with a hammer to break them up a little smaller. They then ate them right out of my hand

 

[aart]

I think that spot on the egg is just a shell gland glitch.
They will stop laying before feathers start to drop.
You can get some funky eggs during that time.

 

[PeachyPeckers]

You can also try bone meal to boost calcium & protein in your hen. I believe its 1 tsp added to mashed pellet feed 2-3x/wk. you can also give greek plain yogurt. The probiotics & calcium would be good for her. Just limit how much yogurt u give because it can cause diarrhea.
I bought oyster shells (small pebble size). My girls were not taking to them well so i took a handful, laid a towel over it & hit them with a hammer to break them up a little smaller. They then ate them right out of my hand

Where do I find bone meal? I'll try the yogurt and crushing the shells into smaller peices too.

 

[PeachyPeckers]

You have flaked oyster shell, which is my preference.

Given the issue with the eggs being weak in one spot, not sure if calcium will actually fix it as it could be a shelling gland issue. But it wouldn't hurt giving her consistent doses of calcium citrate for 1-2 weeks and seeing if it helps. And yes it's as simple as popping open their beaks and shoving the whole pill in (since not all hens have pronounced wattles).

I had to use a dropper to give corid to a pullet a couple of months ago and that wattle trick would have been so useful! Haha i had to drop alittle on her beak and wait for her to open her mouth alittle bit and shot the dropper in. Lol it was a huge pain.

 

[PeachyPeckers]

I think that spot on the egg is just a shell gland glitch.
They will stop laying before feathers start to drop.
You can get some funky eggs during that time.

Well she is right at first molt age, and my other hen started molting last month. She just suddenly stopped laying though, there weren't any weird eggs though so I wasn't expecting that. Lol molting behavior is so strange to me, I'm always convinced that they are dying or have some other horrible disease.

 

[aart]

Well she is right at first molt age, and my other hen started molting last month. She just suddenly stopped laying though, there weren't any weird eggs though so I wasn't expecting that. Lol molting behavior is so strange to me, I'm always convinced that they are dying or have some other horrible disease.

I thought this thread was about a some strange eggs(the brown spots and the broken egg)? Then she stopped laying.
Molt time.
No need for scrambling for calcium supplements.

Every bird is different, and can come into and out of lay differently each year.
Takes time, for the keeper, to adjust to these things.