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[sourland]

Welcome to BYC. Hope that she is okay this morning.

 

[N F C]

You've already received some good advice and some links to check out, so I'll say hello and wish you the best. Please keep us posted!

 

[Kiki]

Welcome to Backyardchickens.com aka BYC!
We are glad you joined our flock.
Jump right in and make yourself at home.

How is she this morning?

This video will help you learn how to navigate this site:

http://articles.extension.org/pages/69065/feeding-chickens-for-egg-production

 

[RodNTN]

Hello there! And It is wonderful to have you here with us, best wishes!

 

[Luckynumberseven]

Greetings everyone
Thank you for the support. I kept my precious girl in the house all night. I slept on the couch and she on the ottoman. I kept the fireplace on to help dry her from the bath. She was really quiet today but did lay a actual shell with a yolk in it although it was a soft shell and folded over itself like a burrito. I was relieved that she passed the yolk but wonder what I’m doing wrong for this to happen. I feed Kings brand crumbles that she really doesn’t eat along with a mixture of oatmeal, scratch and boss. I also sprout grains for them and have a live mealworm farm growing that they eat about 50-100 meal worms a day. They also free range all day. She doesn’t Lay an egg everyday like the Wyandotte. Only about 3 times a week. The smaller poop is a worry as I had another Wyandotte that died in my arms and she got to where she only passed tiny little pea size poops. And she had the soft shelled egg issue too. Does any one think it’s their diet? Sorry I’m so wordy. Just trying to fit in the most information

 

[OneMountainAcres]

Welcome to BYC! Glad you've joined us! you're most likely not doing anything wrong. Sometimes, these things just happen. I had a silver laced Wyandotte hen that would routinely lay a soft shelled egg and sometimes, they were the weirdest shapes but she never had any complications from it. She had calcium available and ate the same as everyone else. If you're concerned that it could be her diet, keto her seperated for a little bit and only feed her the crumbles (no oatmeal, scratch, or treats) to see if anything changes.

 

[rjohns39]

Greetings everyone
Thank you for the support. I kept my precious girl in the house all night. I slept on the couch and she on the ottoman. I kept the fireplace on to help dry her from the bath. She was really quiet today but did lay a actual shell with a yolk in it although it was a soft shell and folded over itself like a burrito. I was relieved that she passed the yolk but wonder what I’m doing wrong for this to happen. I feed Kings brand crumbles that she really doesn’t eat along with a mixture of oatmeal, scratch and boss. I also sprout grains for them and have a live mealworm farm growing that they eat about 50-100 meal worms a day. They also free range all day. She doesn’t Lay an egg everyday like the Wyandotte. Only about 3 times a week. The smaller poop is a worry as I had another Wyandotte that died in my arms and she got to where she only passed tiny little pea size poops. And she had the soft shelled egg issue too. Does any one think it’s their diet? Sorry I’m so wordy. Just trying to fit in the most information

Is the kings brand crumbles a layer? I would suggest drop the oatmeal, scratch and Boss. Also make sure they have oyster shell free choice.

Too much oat and or barley inhibits their ability to absorb protein and some vitamins as well as phosphorus. Scratch is a treat and should only be offered minimally (not to exceed 10% of their diet). Boss is a feed pre-mix, typically used to make your own feed. There's no way to tell how it interacts with kings.

Sprouted grains, meal worms, though technically a treat often replaces what a bird that doesn't free range would typically get. So I'm more liberal with them. Since you free range them, I'd still consider them treats and limit to 10% in combination with the scratch. Personally, I don't feed scratch to my birds (consider it low protein, high fat candy).

For your girl recovering, I would give her the kings, oyster shell, some meal worms, and a table spoon of canned pink salmon (w/juice) twice a day for a few days. Once she's feeling better and walking, eating and drinking well you can reintroduce the sprouts and give the left over salmon to the rest of the flock as a treat.

 

[Luckynumberseven]

Thank you for that suggestion. I never thought of using salmon. My girls are really picky. They won’t even eat lettuce. But I’ll try anything to help. The scratch mixture I give them is only about 1/4 cup a day. I use it when they look bored. (I’m a little obsessed) So far my precious girl seems to be ok other then she looks small and a little quieter then normal. She is trying to lay an egg right now so fingers crossed it goes well. The temps here just dropped from 102 last week to 62. I wonder if that has anything to do with it? Thank you again

 

[Luckynumberseven]

Sorry forgot to answer your question. Yes the Kings brand crumbles are a layer feed. What she was given at the farm when she hatched. I’ve have the hens since they were 3 days old. I also bought some omega crumbles (at $26 for 5 lbs) they don’t like it at all. But I keep putting a little dish out of it to encourage it

 

[Luckynumberseven]

The pink salmon was a hit for about a teaspoon then not so much. She hasn’t laid a egg since 11-2. And it was a odd shaped egg. Does anyone know why a chickens poop would go from enormous to just little dodos with a lot of the white pee part. Almost constipated? They eat about 10 raisins each per day. But do not eat any veggies that are offered. And they free range all day. It seems I can’t find anything on chicken comstipation. Thanks for any input !