Constant Calcium Deposits & Egg Binding? Help!

[ANiceKaren]

Hi friends! I have a 1.5 year old Easter Egger, Dandelion, who has been laying eggs with calcium deposits at the tip now for months. Every egg has this deposit of calcium and always at the tip of the egg. They eat layer crumbles and pellets and have the occasional treat of veggies or fruit. The shells as well are alway thin and brittle but whole. She is the only girl in my flock of 7 with this issue. MORE concerning is that along with these eggs every few weeks we have an “episode” usually in the late afternoon when Dandelion is hunched in corner with tail down and eyes closed straining. The past 3 times this has happened I immediately give her a calcium plus citrate tab and within an hour she lays an egg! EVERY time this has worked and one time she layed two eggs! Then she is completely back to normal? I’m thinking she may have a malfunction going on? I always have free choice calcium available for them (oyster shells, crushed egg shells). Does it sound like she may need more? Less? I’m so confused…mostly concerned about these moments where I can tell she is struggling to lay.. thoughts? Thank you!

 

[Folly's place]

Is the oyster shell container convenient, or in the back of the coop? One of our hens didnt eat it until it moved closer to the door. In general, i think a higher protein diet is a better choice, with that extra oyster shell available. Does she hog the veggies or fruit, and can you relate her 'difficult' days to that, maybe the day after?
However, that's not likely part of her problem now. Some hens do have shell gland problems, and it's generally as they get older. She's heading towards 'older', sadly, given how hens can start doing poorly even at this age.
What can you do? Not a lot, except to make sure her diet is as perfect as possible.
Mary

 

[ANiceKaren]

Is the oyster shell container convenient, or in the back of the coop? One of our hens didnt eat it until it moved closer to the door. In general, i think a higher protein diet is a better choice, with that extra oyster shell available. Does she hog the veggies or fruit, and can you relate her 'difficult' days to that, maybe the day after?
However, that's not likely part of her problem now. Some hens do have shell gland problems, and it's generally as they get older. She's heading towards 'older', sadly, given how hens can start doing poorly even at this age.
What can you do? Not a lot, except to make sure her diet is as perfect as possible.
Mary

Thank you so much! She is not a treat hog in fact, she probably gets the least. The calcium is in a good spot as well so it could just be a little imperfection. That is interesting about higher protein.. but then I’d be worried she wouldn’t get enough, hence the straining once I a while! I’ll just keep an eye on her and keep the calcium tabs close by for those emergencies!

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

Hi friends! I have a 1.5 year old Easter Egger, Dandelion, who has been laying eggs with calcium deposits at the tip now for months. Every egg has this deposit of calcium and always at the tip of the egg. They eat layer crumbles and pellets and have the occasional treat of veggies or fruit. The shells as well are alway thin and brittle but whole. She is the only girl in my flock of 7 with this issue. MORE concerning is that along with these eggs every few weeks we have an “episode” usually in the late afternoon when Dandelion is hunched in corner with tail down and eyes closed straining. The past 3 times this has happened I immediately give her a calcium plus citrate tab and within an hour she lays an egg! EVERY time this has worked and one time she layed two eggs! Then she is completely back to normal? I’m thinking she may have a malfunction going on? I always have free choice calcium available for them (oyster shells, crushed egg shells). Does it sound like she may need more? Less? I’m so confused…mostly concerned about these moments where I can tell she is struggling to lay.. thoughts? Thank you!

Interesting, I have a 1 & 1/2 yo Easter Egger who lays eggs just like this.... I'm paying attention!

 

[ANiceKaren]

Interesting, I have a 1 & 1/2 yo Easter Egger who lays eggs just like this.... I'm paying attention!

Hi! My girl’s eggs continue to have these deposits.. a few eggs don’t but the majority do! I’m thinking my girl has a slight glitch in her system.. causing these deposits and the once in a while struggling to lay episodes… I hope your girl is okay!! I don’t think it’s a major issue but something to keep an eye on.

 

[Henhouse Harlot]

Hi! My girl’s eggs continue to have these deposits.. a few eggs don’t but the majority do! I’m thinking my girl has a slight glitch in her system.. causing these deposits and the once in a while struggling to lay episodes… I hope your girl is okay!! I don’t think it’s a major issue but something to keep an eye on.

Go-Go has laid eggs with some truly impressive deposits! I'll get a picture tomorrow!

 

[3KillerBs]

I have a hen who consistently lays eggs with significant calcium deposits though she's hasn't had any soft-shell issues.

I'd have culled her already except that she's my granddaughter's favorite. I won't breed her.

 

[Mrs. K]

Not all eggs are perfect. In fact a lot of them are not. But if you grow up with grocery store eggs, those eggs are perfect. I think that leads people to stress when they get some different looking eggs.

A lot of this is really beyond human control. Not every chicken is going to live to be an old age. And really while I am in favor of a good basic nutrition, I do not think it is the save all that people seem to propose here. Obviously starving birds will not produce well, and probably very fat birds won't. But on a general, I have something in my stomach every day birds, it is that birds genetics that will determine egg production.

You are doing fine, and I would not expect this bird to live to be 8 or 9 years old, but then I really don't expect any of them to do that.

Mrs K

 

[HollowOfWisps]

Not all eggs are perfect. In fact a lot of them are not. But if you grow up with grocery store eggs, those eggs are perfect. I think that leads people to stress when they get some different looking eggs.

A lot of this is really beyond human control. Not every chicken is going to live to be an old age. And really while I am in favor of a good basic nutrition, I do not think it is the save all that people seem to propose here. Obviously starving birds will not produce well, and probably very fat birds won't. But on a general, I have something in my stomach every day birds, it is that birds genetics that will determine egg production.

You are doing fine, and I would not expect this bird to live to be 8 or 9 years old, but then I really don't expect any of them to do that.

Mrs K

I agree with this. I was reading that it's somewhere around 20-30% of commercial eggs don't meet the perfect egg standard and are not sold to consumers, but instead sold to other places like pet food companies. Grocery store consumers never see all of those imperfections.

 

[Ascholten]

A lot of places get eggs already cracked too, in 5 gallon buckets. So the imperfect ones just get broken into buckets and sold like that to commercial chains.

If all one is getting is a bucket of eggs, they don't care what the shell looked like.

Aaron