Chickens refusing to eat grit and oyster shell?

[Akane]

If they aren't eating it they don't need it. Trying to force it down them may have bad consequences and like you found out doesn't always work so well. They tend to make a mess of their feeders or waste more of everything. Other things can cause thin shelled eggs beyond low calcium. It may just be genetic. You could just be a couple eggs late too. It may take awhile for the signal of needing more calcium to get to the hen so they don't eat oyster shell until after they made a couple thin shelled eggs or it may take more days of eating oyster shell to balance things back out so again you get a couple thin shelled eggs before the hen has taken in enough. A couple eggs out of 1 hen doesn't really prove much since chickens are so variable. They can get everything they need and still have individuals pop out the weirdest eggs imaginable. People who mix in extra calcium still get not only some thin eggs but some shell less ones. It just happens. Unless it happens consistently there's not much reason to start making correlations or force feeding anything. You could end up with bumpy sandpaper eggs instead.

 

[Noble Rooster]

Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts (sorry for the delay in logging back in) and suggestions!

Yes, I was just curious more than anything -- the thin-shelled eggs aren't so thin-shelled or soft like those starter eggs, they're just slightly easier to crack than the iron-sided eggs the rest of the ladies produce.

They do get complete layer feed so it seems like the calcium in that and whatever they might decide to take of the oyster shell works just fine. It's funny how each little flock develops its own habits for these types of things!

 

[Ms~Silkie~Girl]

Mine eat all of it