Egg Shell ?

[7L Farm]

What should I do? I collect the eggs & some are broken everyday in the boxes. Yes, the egg shells are thin. Here's the whole ball of waxes. I feed lay pellets 20% protein, they range 5 hours a day, they have side dish of oyster shell & I've been feeding them quail eggs almost everyday. I eat the eggs plus sell them I notice how thin they are plus the yolks seem to run when I cook them. In other words the yolk breaks very easily when frying. How do I correct this?

 

[tdhenson86]

How much water are they getting and how hot is it? When chickens get too hot, they pant. This can cause them to lose water and they may not produce eggs as well. Also, a hen's body stores calcium worse when it is hot. Here is a whole article on thin eggs shells from Mississippi State University. Hope this helps:

http://msucares.com/poultry/feeds/poultry_thin_shells.html

 

[7L Farm]

Its too hot I'm in Texas.I give them ice water everyday. I appreciate your feed back I will check the articles ASAP. Thanks 7L. Should I give them Quail eggs everyday or what?

 

[tdhenson86]

You can try increasing their protein, nutrient, and calcium levels by giving them quail eggs. It may work or it may not. Is there any way to get a large fan in their coop? I'm in Michigan, but this summer we had about 3 weeks of 100+ degree weather. We put a large fan in the coop and it really helped. Unfortunately, when they get too hot, their bodies don't hold and process the calcium as well. Cool water actually hydrates you faster than ice cold. With ice cold water, your stomach has to bring it up to your body temperature before it can be processed and absorb. Cool water helps cool you down a little bit, but is also warm enough that your body can process it faster. Same concept with chickens. Good luck and I hope things work out well!

 

[7L Farm]

It finally cooled off. I think next summer I'm gonna put a big fan in the coop. It had to be the heat. Thanks, for the help.

 

[tdhenson86]

You're very welcome!