Hard calcium freckles?

[Henriettamom919]

Another post got me wondering about one of my layers; Carol is really prone to calcium freckles. I feed Scratch n Peck layer, fermented. I used to give oyster shell in addition a couple of times a week and she was getting really dense calcium freckles in little mounds on the top of her eggs.

Obviously I quit the oyster but a few days ago it started up again then stopped after three days. The only difference in those days was an explosion of snails in the yard and Carol is a certified snail hunter! She'll track those little suckers. Does snail shell have a lot of calcium?

I wouldn't care but I know excess calcium is bad for kidneys so I just want to be sure that her bumpy eggs, when they happen, aren't cause for concern.

 

[Ridgerunner]

You might look through this to see if you can find what yours look shells like. From your description it could be a couple of different things.

https://thepoultrysite.com/publications/egg-quality-handbook

Snail shells are high in calcium so that makes it suspicious. If that is the problem, I don't know if she is getting enough to harm her kidneys or not. It's not always about how much calcium they eat, different hens process the calcium differently. Most are going to be in a normal range, but she might be on an extreme of how her body absorbs the calcium she eats.

It sounds like yours get to forage, lucky girls. They can sometimes get calcium from creepy crawlies they eat like snails, from some plants they eat, and even from the rocks they eat as grit if it is rich in calcium like limestone.

When I have a problem I try to decide if it is an individual chicken problem or a flock-wide problem. I try to solve for the benefit of the flock as a whole. I don't want to harm the others by catering to one chicken. If the other hens are laying eggs with thick enough shells when you do not offer oyster shell on the side, I'd stop offering oyster shell. I don't know that this hen really has a problem, she may outlive the others. I don't know what else you can do anyway unless you stop them from foraging. You can't control every bite they eat or how their body processes it.

To be honest, I would not worry about this too much. I doubt she is getting enough to harm herself. Good luck!

 

[Henriettamom919]

You might look through this to see if you can find what yours look shells like. From your description it could be a couple of different things.

https://thepoultrysite.com/publications/egg-quality-handbook

Snail shells are high in calcium so that makes it suspicious. If that is the problem, I don't know if she is getting enough to harm her kidneys or not. It's not always about how much calcium they eat, different hens process the calcium differently. Most are going to be in a normal range, but she might be on an extreme of how her body absorbs the calcium she eats.

It sounds like yours get to forage, lucky girls. They can sometimes get calcium from creepy crawlies they eat like snails, from some plants they eat, and even from the rocks they eat as grit if it is rich in calcium like limestone.

When I have a problem I try to decide if it is an individual chicken problem or a flock-wide problem. I try to solve for the benefit of the flock as a whole. I don't want to harm the others by catering to one chicken. If the other hens are laying eggs with thick enough shells when you do not offer oyster shell on the side, I'd stop offering oyster shell. I don't know that this hen really has a problem, she may outlive the others. I don't know what else you can do anyway unless you stop them from foraging. You can't control every bite they eat or how their body processes it.

To be honest, I would not worry about this too much. I doubt she is getting enough to harm herself. Good luck!

Thank you for all the great input!

I'm lucky in that my girls do get all day forage of over an acre; we have front and back yards, natural pond and stream and lots of oak and pine/cedar tree clusters so their diet is full of variables. Also, I only have three of egg laying age (all 9 months) and she's the only one this ever happens to. Despite the bumps the color, thickness and regularity is fantastic so I'm sure I'm worrying about nothing.

I'll read through your link and keep an eye on her! Thank you!