Found my first egg this morning. The shell was already broken and very soft. Wondering if this could be because they are young hens or if I need to add the oyster shell grit to their food. Any help with this would be great. Thank You all in advance for your help. I LOVE my Chickens!
The first few eggs tend to be small and soft shelled. I give my girls oyster shell and grit daily with their scratch in addition to the layer feed. Congrats on your first egg!
That often happens with a young hen's first eggs. If you haven't switched yet, it's time for layer feed, and also, offer them some crushed oyster shells on the side, to promote nice hard eggshells. What I do is, my feeders sit up on crates, and then I sprinkle the oystershell around the feeders on the crate. They readily eat it. This will pass and you'll get those nice eggs soon. They might be a little small at first, but they do get bigger. Congrats on your first egg! Sharon
Yes, I agree to add oyster shell in a separate dish. I bought a 50# bag cheap and it should last a very long time. My girls are still eating unmedicated starter for about 2 weeks due to the ages of the young ones, but I feed oyster shell on the side and I have had 2 very strong eggs from my RIR. If I put the oyster shell in my hand, the girls think it's a special treat and go nuts over it. They seem to really like it.
Thank you all for the advice. They are on the laying feed now and have been for a few weeks. I have also been giving them meal worms as a treat once a day, they love those. Going to get the oyster grit tomorrow. So excited to have my first egg even though we couldnt eat it. LOL
