Chalky egg shell

[Hils]

My quail eggs have chalky blobs on them and if I scratch it off the membrane is revealed. They are fed on quail layers pellets and occasionally a little ACV in the water but I have now started to add some of their shell into the pellets.
My friend suggested that adding vinegar to the water when cooking boiled eggs would make it easier to peel the shell, but I'm now wondering if giving ACV in their water has made their egg shells weaker. Any thoughts?

 

[Kale the Quail]

try giving them washed and crushed eggshells.

 

[Hils]

Yes I've started to give them eggs shells in addition to layers pellets.

 

[Kale the Quail]

in that case, i'm not sure what to do. @Nabiki might know. she does a lot of medicine things. I've barely had to give my birds medicine. they rarely get hurt and if i do give them medicine it might be the wrong one. I'm kind of scatterbrained

 

[Nabiki]

in that case, i'm not sure what to do. @Nabiki might know. she does a lot of medicine things. I've barely had to give my birds medicine. they rarely get hurt and if i do give them medicine it might be the wrong one. I'm kind of scatterbrained

That's kind of funny. I don't think I do medicine things at all, just a little bit of first aid now and then. I do give my birds crushed eggshell and oyster shell on the side, though. Make sure it's crushed small enough for them to eat easily.

 

[Hils]

That's kind of funny. I don't think I do medicine things at all, just a little bit of first aid now and then. I do give my birds crushed eggshell and oyster shell on the side, though. Make sure it's crushed small enough for them to eat easily.

Thanks. I have started on the crushed shell, now in a separate pot and the quail whose egg seems weakest goes mad for it! She must have a greater need for it than the other birds. What is special about oyster shell? And would ground up snail shell be any good? Lots of snails in my garden!

 

[Nabiki]

Thanks. I have started on the crushed shell, now in a separate pot and the quail whose egg seems weakest goes mad for it! She must have a greater need for it than the other birds. What is special about oyster shell? And would ground up snail shell be any good? Lots of snails in my garden!

I'm not sure about the calcium content of snail shells. I often don't have enough egg shell around to feed my birds, so I supplement with oyster shell. There's nothing really special about it, but it's what's usually used in layer feed to increase the calcium content.

 

[Hils]

I'm not sure about the calcium content of snail shells. I often don't have enough egg shell around to feed my birds, so I supplement with oyster shell. There's nothing really special about it, but it's what's usually used in layer feed to increase the calcium content.

Okey dokey. Thanks for that.

 

[The Brick Coop]

Did they get stressed recently, like on Tuesday? Chalky shells usually show up after some kind of stress like moving to a new pen or a new bird introduced or a predator scare.

 

[Hils]

Did they get stressed recently, like on Tuesday? Chalky shells usually show up after some kind of stress like moving to a new pen or a new bird introduced or a predator scare.

Two of the three females always lay eggs that have chalky blobs. I've only had them about 2 months, (they are now about 8 months old). There are foxes in my area, and my neighbours have cats.
Also I think I read somewhere on this site that eggs with chalky blobs would not be suitable for hatching...? What about a general all over chalkiness? Thing is, the three girls each lay eggs that are different from each other, but each is instantly recognisable. Yoko's egg is roundish and finely specked all over, Bibi's egg is marbled cream and caramel, and Katy's egg is pale with splashes of dark chocolate. So I can only compare them to themselves!