Help!! My Salmon Faverolle often lays shell-less/broken eggs

[smokeysmokey100]

Help! I have a one-year old Salmon Faverolle who frequently lays soft eggs. She is fed laying feed with calcium, plus she has oyster shell and crushed eggs shells available to eat at all times. Almost 1 out of every 10 eggs breaks upon laying, sometimes inside her. Once she became very sick, too. What can I do for this bird? I have tried to entice her to eat more calcium, but she just won't do it. My other hen is fine and lays very thick/strong shelled eggs. Please give me some advice since I don't want to loose this hen to an infection from a broken egg. thanks!

 

[brahmabreeder]

Does she get out in the sun often?

 

[smokeysmokey100]

Yes, they are in an outdoor pen all the time. It's not always direct sun due to the winter sun now, but there are always streams of sunlight that filter through during the day, so part of the coop almost always has sunlight in it somewhere.

 

[brahmabreeder]

Hmm...I was going to suggest a vitamin D deficiency since it's winter, but maybe not. If they are low on Vitamin D they can't absorb the calcium properly.

 

[smokeysmokey100]

Well, she had some soft eggs in the summer too, when the coop gets full sun for most of the day, but not as frequently, I could try supplementing her with vitamin D. How do you do that? I don't really want to mess with the main food supply, because my other hen is fine. And, as a side note, we've had other hens here too before (now just have 2) and none of them ever had a problem. I was wondering if it is common in the Faverolles breed?

 

[brahmabreeder]

Not sure if it's common in the breed or not. Just pick up a vitamin and electrolyte supplement at Tractor Supply. Mine have been on it most of the winter and it fixed their egg issues.

 

[smokeysmokey100]

Did yours have weak shelled/shell-less eggs, too? I will try the vitamin supplement! thanks for the suggestion!

 

[brahmabreeder]

Well I kind of had the same issue you had. Some were fine and some weren't. I had one hen that I kept getting broken eggs from. Once the oyster shells failed to work, I just added the vitamins in. Soon after I started getting normal eggs.

 

[smokeysmokey100]

Can you tell me the brand of the vitamin/electrolyte supplement you use? There is not a Tractor Supply store very close to me but perhaps I can find it somewhere else and give it a try.
Thanks!

 

[brahmabreeder]

Durvet