How do I improve the quality of these eggs/shells?

[aggiemae]

"Nipper 75". I am also stumped. For over three months we have been giving oyster shells. food with calcium and ever blending egg shells into a mash with feed, butter milk and eggs yet one of our chickens continues to lay paper thin shelled or shell less eggs.

 

[Henny]

Here is an excellent website that discusses common egg problems. The causes could be dietary, environmental or infectious disease. This website is very informative. Hope it helps!

 

[Henny]

Oops! I forgot to include the website--http://www.avianweb.com/eggproblems.html

 

[Bogtown Chick]

Hi keggen. it was a VERY LONG winter in Minnesota this year. I've been getting some various eggs too. my birds are starting their second year. I felt so bad for them stuck in their run --as they were free rangers last summer-- that I did give kale and spinach 3-4x a week in the run just to give them a little green while they were surrounded by their "white hell". LOL. I think you will find that the girls will settle into their summer after some adjustments with their diet free ranging and some contentment with fairer weather. One of my EEs, on a really nice day here a couple weeks ago laid her regular egg right away in the AM, which has bits of sandy calcium (normal for her) and then later that evening laid me a rubber egg. I think she just enjoyed her sunny day so much and was so happy she had to give me two eggs. Ha! Even though one was soft. I just got one from her today though that was smooth. She's working it out. Another EE I have never laid last fall went through the winter not laying...then started this March with messy looking bloom on her shell. She's just an odd one. no egg looks the same from her. But now here the last few weeks I notice more consistency with her eggs. Sounds like you're doing your best trying feeds, giving oyster shells, allowing free ranging. I just believe that there's waxes in wanes in the birds nutrition (what's available to them if free ranging) and varying degrees of their contentment which I also think gets reflected in egg production. They're fun to figure out aren't they?

 

[Laci7210]

I have 11 hens in my coop. 5 are old and the other 6 are about 9 months old. They are all laying and have been laying but just lately, they have been getting bumps on their eggs. I feed them Kent layer pellets mixed with nutrena layer crumbles (incase they don't like pellets which is all that the kent feed comes in) and cracked corn. On occasion I give them scratch grains out in the run. They have fruit peelings and that type of thing sometimes too. My mom thinks that the bumps might be calcium build up? Anything I should change in their diet? What are the bumps? Are the eggs with bumps still edible? I was starting to sell eggs and I can't sell people the ones with bumps because I don't know what it is! Not all of them lay eggs with bumps. Some are smooth. Thanks

 

[Weasleymum]

Mine are currently on Countryside Organics Layer with a commercial crumble added. I just bought Blue Seal Multi Flock and added that to the coop too for the extra protein. My girls have 24/7 access to oyster and grit and free range a couple hours a day and mostly all day on the weekends. So, I'm stumped.

Try giving them *just* the Countryside Organics feed, plus free-frange. That's what I've been feeding my flock for all the time I've kept chickens (about 5 years now), and I haven't had any shell or weird-egg issues. I think if it's a balanced feed, you shouldn't have to add a bunch of stuff to it... especially things like calcium. The feed is formulated to provide calcium already, so giving extra supplements might not be a good thing-- they can always get too much of something, as well as not enough.

 

[ShanCarl1971]

I would definitely increase their protein. They probably haven't gotten enough through the cold winter since there aren't nearly as many bugs, etc. I had similar issues with mine, along with egg eating. I started doing fermented feed and feeding them game bird starter (27%) along with their other foods, and it help tremendously!!

 

[AVintageLife]

The MultiFlock feed provides vegetarian/plant based protein. Any more experienced flock owners have thoughts on plant based versus animal based protein affecting egg quality?

 

[OHhappychicks]

I'm sorry, but I don't have any answers as to your problem. I have an older (5 yr old) brown leghorn that lays a soft egg and only lays occasionally. She has done that for a long while. But yours is only 1, so I'm not sure. I've been reading on another thread about growing your own fodder. It is wheat grass and BOSS, if more greens are needed. It is supposed to be good protein. I tried it back in May, but only a little, and I haven't gotten back to it yet. My girls seemed to love it. Mine also free range everyday, so they probably don't need it so much in the summer. I was experimenting for the winter. Might be something for you to think about for the winter, since you live in a short summer area. Hope everything works out.

 

[Hopper Hunter]

How many treats do you give them? Our girls come to the back door and peck on the window to beg for treats. It is hard to resist giving them treats. However, we have had similar egg problems. I've been withholding the treats so that they will eat more of the chicken feed and the eggs seem to be improving.