Chickens not eating feed and sudden soft eggs

[mpmangin]

Folks - my flock has suddenly lost its mind. About two months ago my girls decided that they were too good for thier feed and began to free range for all their meals (we have about 100+ acres at our disposal so the wander all over the place). I did not think much of it other then now I get to save a few bucks on feed. Now the problem has appeared that all thier eggs are too soft and are only leathery shell which break under thier own weight. They have been laying all summer with no problem and good tough shells. Any idea how to convince them to start eating thier feed and oyster shells again? - I have had chickens for five years now and never had my flock do this - any idea of a cause?? Thanks for any help y'all have to offer

 

[silkiechicken]

Maybe show them where the oyster shell is again and tell them if they eat one bite of shell, they can have one bite of corn too?

Or you can coop them up for a few extra hours to make them eat more of the food inside.

Fall and moulting might also be playing a role in egg production so... good luck!

 

[bananakaygirl]

"Maybe show them where the oyster shell is again and tell them if they eat one bite of shell, they can have one bite of corn too?"



Maybe you could try putting some oyster shell in with their feed, and hand-feed them the food.

 

[bananakaygirl]

That's what I would try doing.