Calcium ideas...No Oyster shell at feed store the last month

[Ema]

Ok so I have been going down to the feed store once a week on delivery days to get Oyster shell but every time I go there ins't any. They say they have no idea as to why there is no Oyster shell and what ticks me off more is that if they answered their phones it would save me the half hour drive there. and of course back for nothing.
However they are the only place that carry feed up here, the other closest is 1.5 hours away.

So I do use crushed eggshells and feed them back to them but I got a soft shelled egg yesterday, so I am thinking their calcium is dropping. They are on layer feed...Any other ideas on what else I can feed them or is there a calcium supplement I can add to their metal waterer??

 

[mommyofthreewithchicks]

I give mine crushed up egg shells and have not had any problems- in fact they might be almost too hard

They are a lot harder than the eggs from the store anyway. I have a bag of oyster shell but have not opened it yet.

I figured I have the egg shells and they would be going to waste in the garden so I threw it in the coop instead. Good luck!

 

[dsqard]

I wonder if giving them yogurt would help?

 

[snowflake]

I save up egg shells and give those to the hens also. some cook them I just keep a paper bag nest to the stove and drop them in as we use them. when it is full I crush them up and sprinkle them out on the lawn for the hens. they love them. I also use oyster shell, but if you are using a layer feed you don't need to worry as it has calcium in it

 

[BuffaloWings]

I would echo "dsqard" & try yogurt. Greens (like spinach) are supposed to be high in calcium, so you might try that. Although, you stated your chickens are on layer feed. Typically layer pellets or mash contain calcium for shell development. Is it just the one egg you have got that is soft shelled or all laying soft shelled eggs? If it is just a one time thing, I usually just write it off as a mystery. One never knows everything that goes on during the journey of the egg. If is an across the board problem then I would think about the calcium.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

Add your cow now and give them milk.

 

[Ema]

thank you for the replies...yes it is just one egg...it startled the poopy out of me...my hens started laying on the 23rd of sept. and out of my 21 I am already getting 18 eggs per day. well this egg my 2 yr old pointed it out cause I totally didn't see it where the hen decided to leave it. I always find all the eggs in the nest boxes with no issues so I know this egg seeing it was smaller than the rest came from a first time layer. She laid the egg in the giant blue saucer I have on the coop floor where I put all their treats before locking them up for night time. I guess my hen gave me a treat back.

Well I went to pick it up and my fingers crushed right through it, it was also quite liquidy, what a mess. I was thankful the hens were outside still and I quickly cleaned it up. but it was so thin...I swear paper was thicker than the shell. I am learning about egg laying as I go. SO I thought for sure its a calcium issue. but couple hours ago I decided to make sunny side up eggs for the kids who are home sick today, and I used the eggs I collected today just to see and I had a super hard time cracking the shells. LOL On the plus side all the eggs I got today were double yolkers, and the kids thought that was super cool.

I was also startled a bit the first time I collected a massively speckled egg and an egg that was so light brown I for sure thought one of the hens was sick, but I looked it up and I guess its normal. Yesterday I got an egg that is super long, about 4 inches long and only about an inch thick...lol..my daughter things that one looks super awesome!!!

anyhow back to topic, I give them yogurt and mix it with alfalfa pellets that have been soaked in hot water, or alfalfa cubes, I got the cubes because of the horses and the pellets have calcium in them because they are for my guinea pigs. either way the chickens love the yogurt alfalfa mix, looks gross but its gone within minutes.
Today I gave them a whole large can of chickpeas liquid and all!!

 

[A.T. Hagan]

If you have a pet store in the area see if they carry crushed coral such as is used in some aquariums. It will work until you can find oyster shell again. Not as cheap as shell but it'll get you by.

 

[Judy]

It is very likely that all you need is layer and crushed eggshells. Some experienced people on here never use oyster shell, only egg shells, and yes, small treats of things like yogurt and spinach that are high in calcium.

You will get an odd egg now and then regardless, and this happens a bit more often when they first start laying.

For most chickens, the calcium in layer, esp. with some extra egg shells etc., is enough. An occasional hen needs more, which is why oyster shell is recommended.

I wouldn't worry about it, Id give the egg shells and maybe a bit of yogurt and the layer, and buy the oyster shell when I found it on the shelf, when I was there anyway.

 

[Ema]

well the closest thing for a pet store here is walmart. lol...the town will not allow a pet store to go up since the last one. long story short, the owner of the pet store was struggling and the shop went up in flames. they can prove it was foul play but they couldn't prove it was him. either way he collected his insurance money and now the town will not allow pet shops to be opened in town.

I think I will wait it out until I have to make my trip out of town, and then I will look for feed stores, and if cannot find those then I can at least go to the Aquarium store and get that coral stuff, I am sure they carry it since they are a big fish store. they are 2 hours away but worth the trip if I cannot find anything else. for now if yogurt does the trick with eggshells then I will do that,

thanks again