Eggs brittle and yolks falling apart

[Lulu-vt]

I’ve had chickens for years but can’t remember such poor quality of eggs. The shells are very soft. They are still hard shells but basically fall apart when you open them. Also the yolks break immediately, they seem to not have any structure.

I live in Vermont. Cold, dark days. I get about 2 eggs from 15 hens. I don’t mind and don’t expect eggs in the winter. But when I get them, I’m surprised at the poor quality.

I feel them Kalmbach 20% flock maker both the pellets and a container of the crumbles. They have access to oyster shells and I give them extra protein like meal worms, catfood and mackeral (not often but one of those maybe every 2-3 days. I have a rooster as well as a few Cochins along with my hardier. barnyard mix. They are all under two years old.

Any suggestions to really help boost the toughness of the shell and yolk? I feel like I’m missing something in their diet. The feed is supposed to have everything to support the chickens so I’m just not sure what’s wrong.

 

[thecatumbrella]

My first assumption would be that they're not taking enough oyster shell. Do you feed the rock style or the flaked style? Maybe try grabbing a bag of the other type and see if that gets them more interested.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Have you noticed any signs of respiratory distress? My chickens' eggs really declined in quality after they contracted MG. No treatment solved the issue for more than a few days. Strangely enough, most of their problems started when I put them on Kalmbach feed for the first time.

 

[Lulu-vt]

Have you noticed any signs of respiratory distress? My chickens' eggs really declined in quality after they contracted MG. No treatment solved the issue for more than a few days. Strangely enough, most of their problems started when I put them on Kalmbach feed for the first time.

They all seem healthy. Strange about the same feed. Hmmmm.

 

[Lulu-vt]

My first assumption would be that they're not taking enough oyster shell. Do you feed the rock style or the flaked style? Maybe try grabbing a bag of the other type and see if that gets them more interested.

It’s rock style. I Hansen the other. I’ll look for it. Thanks.

 

[Mountain Roost]

Hens can be like kids and only take their favorites. For a boost, you could try mixing a feedings worth of feed with water and some calcium. For my geese I give them people calcium citrate powder and that makes a huge difference in their eggs.

Interesting about the same feeds. Switching feeds could rule out the need for other solutions.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

It’s rock style. I Hansen the other. I’ll look for it. Thanks.

I’ve only found the flake style on Amazon (so far.)

 

[Altairsky]

Diet looks ideal. I'd guess they might have caught a virus of some sort. Some virus gives egg quality problems as the only symptom. It will go away on its own, giving enough time.

 

[Lulu-vt]

Hens can be like kids and only take their favorites. For a boost, you could try mixing a feedings worth of feed with water and some calcium. For my geese I give them people calcium citrate powder and that makes a huge difference in their eggs.

Interesting about the same feeds. Switching feeds could rule out the need for other solutions.

I would be interested in trying that too. But I have roosters and I believe calcium isn’t good for them. I could be mistaken though, but I think that’s why we give it free choice.

 

[StinkyAcres]

Strange about the same feed. Hmmmm.

It's probably just a coincidence. But, yeah, I'd guess it's a viral or bacterial infection of some sort, especially if it's eggs from multiple hens.