Calcium deficiency?

[PeachyPeckers]

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.

Well I think I confused everyone, my other hen stopped laying. My andalusian is the one that just suddenly stopped laying and then started molting.
My BR was having these dark spots on her eggs for a month and she refused to eat and free choice calcium supplements.
Then on Saturday within the course of 24 hours, she laid 2 very mushy, soft shelled eggs... this is mostly my concern but I wanted to give the entire history of the eggs in case there's something else going on. She keeps going to the nesting box several times a day like she needs to lay but nothing has come out yesterday or today. Maybe molt, maybe not, idk!

 

[MontanaLady]

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

 

[MontanaLady]

I found bone meal at Chewy.com. You could try Petco, Walmart or your local farm store.

 

[PeachyPeckers]

Wellshe laid a nice hard shell egg today! Still has that dark spot, not sure if it's a concern or not. The shell seems pretty thin but I'm glad she's not egg bound or had an egg break inside of her.

 

[MontanaLady]

Wellshe laid a nice hard shell egg today! Still has that dark spot, not sure if it's a concern or not. The shell seems pretty thin but I'm glad she's not egg bound or had an egg break inside of her.

Thats great to hear!!!! I am sure it takes time for the calcium to absorb. I had a mushy egg last week. Gave her the crushed oyster shells by hand . No egg the next day but a nice shelled egg the following. Somewhere on this forum i found info on all the different egg issues that can occur

 

[MontanaLady]

Thats great to hear!!!! I am sure it takes time for the calcium to absorb. I had a mushy egg last week. Gave her the crushed oyster shells by hand . No egg the next day but a nice shelled egg the following. Somewhere on this forum i found info on all the different egg issues that can occur

The article was Common Egg Quality issues

 

[PeachyPeckers]

The article was Common Egg Quality issues

I think I saw that too but I don't remember seeing my specific problem, I don't remember though. I'll need to check it out again.

 

[Wyorp Rock]

I found bone meal at Chewy.com. You could try Petco, Walmart or your local farm store.

I'd stick with oyster shell.


J/S....This is not bone meal....

 

[PeachyPeckers]

Ok I seriously don't know what is wrong with this chicken. She's laying soft shell again. I tried crushing the oyster and egg shells finer but she refuses to eat any calcium supplement. I am basically having to force feed her calcium powder to fix her shells. I don't believe that she is molting either.

Here's what's happening, this is exactly what happened in my original posting on this...
She lays a hard shells for about a week, but the shells get thinner and lighter in color each time. She laid a soft shell yesterday, and then this morning another soft shell under the roost. So that means she's trying to lay twice in less than 24 hours. This is what happened last time. I don't understand why she is refusing all of the calcium supplements that I offer. Are there any other calcium options that I can offer? Maybe something that she thinks is a treat, like a vegetable high in calcium?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I tried crushing the oyster and egg shells finer but she refuses to eat any calcium supplement.

I don't understand why she is refusing all of the calcium supplements that I offer.

Don't do powder and don't give her an option to refuse, push calcium citrate tablets or pills, whole, into her mouth. Until you force her to take consistent doses you won't have an answer if this is a calcium deficiency or a shelling gland issue. If it's the latter there is no real fix for it, but at least you'll know for sure that adding calcium won't make a difference.