helloooo

[rach1970]

hi my names rachel, from sunny blackpool.... i have had 2 chickens for about 6 weeks now, its our first time at this and i admit i love them but.....they are really irregular at laying, we get 1 really good egg every day and 1 squashes, broken really thin egg!!!! a few weeks ago we had 4 days of 2 really good eggs.....am i doing something wrong? they are fed a mix of layers pellets, grit and food, they have cabbage and mealworms (which they adore) i also put cider vinegar in there water as i was advised to do this to help with the laying. can somebody help

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan

How old are your birds? How long have they been laying?

 

[BButterfly]

Hi,
I've had the same type of problems happening when we first started out. Here's the thing you are doing everything you can for a positive outcome, but are you giving them oystershells in thieir food. The Oyster shells give the eggs nice strong shells. A lot of times some bag feeds with include this in the mix, but if this is a problem that's happening on a regular then it's clearly not enough. You can purchase a bag of just oyster shells at your local feed store or TSC, and mix it in yourself.
After you've done this for a couple weeks you should notice the difference. Another thing I've read ppl on here doing is the actual nutrients in the shell help them to get better shells when they lay. I've also tried that and it works good too.
Just after you break the egg open for personal use, instead of throwing them out put them in a strainer and rinse them off. Once they're dry collect them in some sort of container. Once you've accumated enough of them put them in a food processor. Get them nice and small and mix that in with their feed.
Hope this helps,
BButterfly

 

[sumi]

Hello and welcome to BYC

Do as BButterfly said and Good Luck!

 

[rach1970]

hi im not sure of their age the man we got them off said they were about 14months old!! he also said they laid an egg each everyday.

 

[Red Barn Farms]

 

[Kevin565]

 

[theoldchick]

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[redsoxs]

Howdy from Kansas, Rachel, and

! Glad you joined us!