Duck laying thin shells with calcium deposits on outside of shells

[Jenbirdee]

ever seen eggs like this? The shell is thin, but has calcium deposits which suggests to me my duck is not properly absorbing calcium or something? This is my two year-old silver apple yard who prolapsed several months ago, but recovered after treatment with calcium gluconate and Manuka honey and removing chickens from the duck pen( the chickens were harassing the ducks and my ducks were so afraid of them I had three ducks prolapsed within a couple of months)
Anyway, I gave her more calcium gluconate several times recently, but the shells remain thin with the deposits on the outside.
Is there anything I can give her to help?

 

[Quatie]

What do you feed them? And what other calcium sources do you provide?

 

[Jenbirdee]

What do you feed them? And what other calcium sources do you provide?

they get nutrena all flock pellets and purina duck pellets in their feeders always available. and mazuri waterfowl maintenance feed twice a day in their water buckets. also crushed oyster shell always available. and i feed their own shells back to them after rinsing, drying, baking and crushing. Once a day a treat - could be lettuce, kale, cucumbers, cabbage, peas, or meal worms. (for amount example 15 ducks 3 chickens and 2 geese share 1 cup of peas)

 

[Quatie]

they get nutrena all flock pellets and purina duck pellets in their feeders always available. and mazuri waterfowl maintenance feed twice a day in their water buckets. also crushed oyster shell always available. and i feed their own shells back to them after rinsing, drying, baking and crushing. Once a day a treat - could be lettuce, kale, cucumbers, cabbage, peas, or meal worms. (for amount example 15 ducks 3 chickens and 2 geese share 1 cup of peas)

The crushed oyster shells, are they the white pelleted type of the gray flaky ones. The main reason I ask is, ducks tend to be picky about oyster shells. Most people find they will barely touch the pelleted types, while they love the gray flaked ones. I didn't an experiment when I switched my flock and they went through the flaked ones so much faster. And their shell quality went up a lot.

I also feed my ducks a little bit of layer feed as well. The majority of their diet is duck feed, but I found adding a little bit of layer feed in a small bowl on the side helped as well.

Black soldier fly larvae also contain more calcium than mealworms. You can try those as a good snack. Some of my ducks were not a big fan of them, and it took a couple times before they would eat them. But I found them to cost just as much as mealworms.

If you are seeing an issue with the chicken and the geese too, you might want to look at sources that could cause metal toxicity. Otherwise, it is likely picky ducks.

 

[Jenbirdee]

The crushed oyster shells, are they the white pelleted type of the gray flaky ones. The main reason I ask is, ducks tend to be picky about oyster shells. Most people find they will barely touch the pelleted types, while they love the gray flaked ones. I didn't an experiment when I switched my flock and they went through the flaked ones so much faster. And their shell quality went up a lot.

I also feed my ducks a little bit of layer feed as well. The majority of their diet is duck feed, but I found adding a little bit of layer feed in a small bowl on the side helped as well.

Black soldier fly larvae also contain more calcium than mealworms. You can try those as a good snack. Some of my ducks were not a big fan of them, and it took a couple times before they would eat them. But I found them to cost just as much as mealworms.

If you are seeing an issue with the chicken and the geese too, you might want to look at sources that could cause metal toxicity. Otherwise, it is likely picky ducks.

yes i know the flakey kind and yes i think my ducks like this better too , i bought them a couple times in the past. i’ll get some more then. I watch them and I see most of them eating the crushed shells, but the flaked disappear quicker.
last year one of my chickens has a few soft shells but a couple days of calcium citrate w/d3 pills and she was fine.

 

[cheezenkwackers]

I was going to say add vitamin d too.

 

[Quatie]

yes i know the flakey kind and yes i think my ducks like this better too , i bought them a couple times in the past. i’ll get some more then. I watch them and I see most of them eating the crushed shells, but the flaked disappear quicker.
last year one of my chickens has a few soft shells but a couple days of calcium citrate w/d3 pills and she was fine.

I know the flaked ones can be a bit harder to find, but they are definitely worth it. I have yet to see some say their ducks don't prefer them, and ducks can be really picky sometimes.

It is also not unusual to find some issues at the beginning of the laying season or the end. Especially, if you have any breeds that are high layers, I find I occasionally need to supplement them extra calcium. Calcium citrate plus vitamin D is my go to as well. Partly because it is just so much easier to administer.

 

[dog rescue]

Of the 12 layer ducks I have in one pen, they are all 6 months old now with three of them age 2. I noticed one or more were laying eggs with no shell and placenta was usually very thick. On the rest of the eggs the shell was thick and healthy. Finally saw a Pekin gal who is the alpha spit out a shell-less egg (she had earlier been trying to breed the other Pekin's like a male would). She has a dull orange, more of a dull peach color beak. Other than that, looks big and healthy like the rest.

They get recycled egg shells and oyster shell flakes.

I called Metzer Poultry and they told me egg layer adult ducks should be fed an egg layer feed at 16%. I said I was feeding Nutrena or Purina all flock and also 20% protein duck feed.

The gal said to feed CHICKEN 16% egg layer.

I said, "Shouldn't I be feeding a higher protein in the colder winter when they have to work to keep warm AND produce eggs?"

She insisted I needed to feed a lower protein feed.

Any thoughts?

I also researched adding whole flax seed to their food for better egg omega contents. I will be adding 5-10% flax to their feed in 3 week sessions, then give them a week break then add again to improve nutrient quality of the eggs.

Any one else been doing that?

I read flax should not be feed every day without a break and not to exceed 10%. It's like offering turmeric to a dog for hip or joint inflammation, same with humans. Good to do but not every day of their lives or it can back-fire.

 

[Jenbirdee]

the mazuri waterfowl maintenance feed is a lower protien and my ducks eat lots of it.
the one duck with the calcium deposits gets a lot of calcium ( i see her eating the oyster shells and the recycled duck egg shells) and i was also giving her calcium gluconate after she prolapsed - and then still giving her some calcium gluconate once a week to make sure her eggs stay strong but it’s weird that the calcium deposits little bumps on the outside of the shell. the shell is a bit thin and the calcium deposits in lumps. this is why i ask what else helps her body to correctly absorb the calcium, and i was reminded it is vitamin D for one thing.
i find it easy to give calcium citrate with d3 pills to my chickens, but with my ducks, I find it easier to use a liquid calcium gluconate. And then I realize perhaps it is the D3 that she needs so I just recently ordered some liquid liquid vitamin D drops for infants going to try that see if these lumps of calcium deposits go away and maybe the shell itself gets sturdier.
also/ Most of my ducks do not lay eggs through the winter only the first year and perhaps the second year they may lay eggs through the winter. The rest of my ducks stop in the winter. half of them are getting old now.

 

[Jenbirdee]

What do you feed them? And what other calcium sources do you provide?

I was going to say add vitamin d too.

Of the 12 layer ducks I have in one pen, they are all 6 months old now with three of them age 2. I noticed one or more were laying eggs with no shell and placenta was usually very thick. On the rest of the eggs the shell was thick and healthy. Finally saw a Pekin gal who is the alpha spit out a shell-less egg (she had earlier been trying to breed the other Pekin's like a male would). She has a dull orange, more of a dull peach color beak. Other than that, looks big and healthy like the rest.

They get recycled egg shells and oyster shell flakes.

I called Metzer Poultry and they told me egg layer adult ducks should be fed an egg layer feed at 16%. I said I was feeding Nutrena or Purina all flock and also 20% protein duck feed.

The gal said to feed CHICKEN 16% egg layer.

I said, "Shouldn't I be feeding a higher protein in the colder winter when they have to work to keep warm AND produce eggs?"

She insisted I needed to feed a lower protein feed.

Any thoughts?

I also researched adding whole flax seed to their food for better egg omega contents. I will be adding 5-10% flax to their feed in 3 week sessions, then give them a week break then add again to improve nutrient quality of the eggs.

Any one else been doing that?

I read flax should not be feed every day without a break and not to exceed 10%. It's like offering turmeric to a dog for hip or joint inflammation, same with humans. Good to do but not every day of their lives or it can back-fire.

GUESS WHAT problem solved by vitamin D ! I got her infant vitamin D drops and I dosed her only three times and her shellls are perfect . I stopped giving the D a few days ago and still do not see any deposits or weak shell. I will watch to see if she needs any more D / and or calcium. Just thought you might want to know so I tagged y’all.