Confusion regarding eggs

[dandread]

I have 4 red sex links and 3 Wynadottes. They are 18 months old. They molted a couple months ago. We had a very cold winter in Seattle.

We feed Purina Layer Feed.

We have Calcium Carbonate ‘grit’ but they dont appear to touch it all for weeks at a time.

My problem:
We are getting on a regular basis a soft shell egg. We also getting on a regular basis a couple of ‘sandy’ rough texture eggs.

Confusion:
Soft shells-lack calcium, rough eggs-too much calcium.

How can it be both? Lack of calcium and too much calcium?

 

[dandread]

I should mention I think the soft shell eggs are coming from the Wynadottes because they ususlly lay smaller eggs. I should mention they are the more aggressive chickems.

 

[flowerfaeiry]

You can check to see which hen is laying which egg by putting different colors of food dye in each ones vent. It will smear the eggs. Perhaps only only one hen is laying the soft shells. She may not be eating enough or worms/mites or some other issue. Check each hen, look for any that are thin.

 

[Acre4Me]

Calcium carbonate is not grit as it will dissolve. Grit is usually something like crushed granite.

They are hardly touching the calcium carbonate because they are on layer feed, which usually has 4% calcium, whereas a grower feed has only around 1% calcium. The layer feed is designed to provide the calcium.

However, maybe that calcium is slightly higher than the gritty eggshellers need. We had fed layer feed for awhile and a couple of the girls (out of 12) started laying eggs with calcium deposits.

If the soft shell layers have always laid a soft shell, they may have a reproductive issue if it is consistent.

 

[dandread]

Today we are keeping the Wynadotte locked up in their portable coop, so we at least know what set of birds is laying what eggs. Then ftom there we can continue the elimination process.

I will also probably pick up a bag of grower feed.

Which leads to another question. When we are ready to slaughter the chickens, how long should we feed them grower feed before we slaughter them?

We are moving out of State at the end of year and may slaughter the Wynadotte. They have always laid smaller eggs and are not very friendly to us or the other chickens. You can tell they were the ‘stepchildren’. We did not give them the same attrntion as chicks or it is the breed.

 

[aart]

Which leads to another question. When we are ready to slaughter the chickens, how long should we feed them grower feed before we slaughter them?

Might as well feed them grower now, with calcium on the side for the layers.
It's not going to make them 'meatier' than they already are,
but the protein boost might make them lay better.

 

[dandread]

So we have determined it is one of our four red sex link hens that is laying the distorted soft eggs. There seems to be a common dime size no shell spot on the eggs.

How do we determine what is wrong? We dont see worms or mites.

 

[aart]

She's may just have a wonky shell gland...or is just not absorbing the nutrients properly.
It may be diet, stress, disease....or she might just be a 'lemon'.