icky soft shell eggs

[chickengeorgeto]

Young hens sometimes have a problem getting their egg plant working properly. Other times they have a problem because of infectious diseases that affect their reproductive organs. Vermin,
rowdy children, a keeper who frightens his or her hens with a ham fisted attempt to pet them, and anything else that frightens or startles a hen can have a bad effect on egg quality. Vitamins A and D3 are important to shell quality. A good quality protein source like meat byproducts is important as well.

There is an old folk saying that goes something like this; "You can hear anything but meat a-frying and money a-rattling." I am afraid that the same thing is true with hobby chicken keeping.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

Oh yes, I almost forgot. All the calcium that hens use to produce egg shells comes directly out of her own skeleton. The oyster shells or milled limestone in a layer ration is destine to replace or repay the calcium debt that a hen creates when she withdraws calcium from her own bones to use for egg shells. A good source of vitamins, and minerals like calcium is therefor vital to a hen.

 

[Chris09]

Oh yes, I almost forgot. All the calcium that hens use to produce egg shells comes directly out of her own skeleton. The oyster shells or milled limestone in a layer ration is destine to replace or repay the calcium debt that a hen creates when she withdraws calcium from her own bones to use for egg shells. A good source of vitamins, and minerals like calcium is therefor vital to a hen.

From what I read, a well fed hen gets the calcium she need to produce a egg from her blood stream.
If a hens blood calcium level is low a hen can extract up to 10% of the calcium that she needs to produce a egg from her bones.

 

[chickengeorgeto]

From what I read, a well fed hen gets the calcium she need to produce a egg from her blood stream.
If a hens blood calcium level is low a hen can extract up to 10% of the calcium that she needs to produce a egg from her bones.

No one suggests that a hen doesn't have Calcium coursing through her blood stream, the question is where does the calcium originate.

I am under the impression that hens can synthesize part of their chloride/Chlorine (vitamin B4) requirements.

The thing that I am most familiar with from back in the day, when I was a commercial egg farmer is that a hen can requisition 10% of her total skeletal Calcium in only 24 hours for emergency eggshell construction.

Nature is unconcerned with your health, with my health, or with the health of a hen. Nature is eager and willing to sacrifice each and everyone of her children, a hen in this instance. Maw Nature is only focused on the future and the future revolves around the continuance of the species. Therefor, a hen or a human either one is expendable in Maw Natures eyes, as long as they reproduce (lay eggs) thus helping to continue and perpetuate what ever species of plant or animal that we're discussing.

I realize that this sounds cruel, hard, and cold to some of you, but it is one of the great truism's of the last 4,000,000,000 years of life on this planet. Your or my chintzy life means nothing to Maw Nature because everything in nature (as it should be) is focused on generations yet unborn.

 

[Chris09]

No one suggests that a hen doesn't have Calcium coursing through her blood stream, the question is where does the calcium originate.

I am under the impression that hens can synthesize part of their chloride/Chlorine (vitamin B4) requirements.

The thing that I am most familiar with from back in the day, when I was a commercial egg farmer is that a hen can requisition 10% of her total skeletal Calcium in only 24 hours for emergency eggshell construction.

You said, "All the calcium that hens use to produce egg shells comes directly out of her own skeleton." and if were talking about a healthy well fed hen that is incorrect. All the calcium that a hen uses to produce a egg shell comes from her blood stream, only when there is not enough calcium in her blood stream will a hen pull calcium from her

trabecular bone to produce a eggshell.​

The calcium in a hens blood stream originate from the feed that the hen eats.​

 

[chickengeorgeto]

You said, "All the calcium that hens use to produce egg shells comes directly out of her own skeleton." and if were talking about a healthy well fed hen that is incorrect. All the calcium that a hen uses to produce a egg shell comes from her blood stream, only when there is not enough calcium in her blood stream will a hen pull calcium from her

trabecular bone to produce a eggshell.​

The calcium in a hens blood stream originate from the feed that the hen eats.​

Where is the calcium that a normal healthy hen eats stored until she requires that calcium to produce eggshells? It's stored in her skeleton or bones. Her blood stream merely transports that calcium to her shell gland. I think, but I am unsure that is one of the reasons why a hen that is actively laying has a soft feeing or pliable pelvic bone structure. And also why hens that are not currently in productiohavhaveare somewhat-of-a-hard arse.

 

[Chris09]

Where is the calcium that a normal healthy hen eats stored until she requires that calcium to produce eggshells? It's stored in her skeleton or bones. Her blood stream merely transports that calcium to her shell gland. I think, but I am unsure that is one of the reasons why a hen that is actively laying has a soft feeing or pliable pelvic bone structure. And also why hens that are not currently in productiohavhaveare somewhat-of-a-hard arse.

After the

trabecular bone is full t​

here is no need to store anymore calcium, because the calcium a hen takes in during the day go's to making the next eggshell. Also since it takes a hen 25.5 hours to make a eggshell she has no problem raising her blood calcium level back up before producing the next shell if she is on a proper diet. Now if a hen takes in a over overabundance of calcium and the

trabecular bone is full her next egg will most likely have calcium deposits on it.​

Now if a hen is no longer laying do to age, molt, season etc., is still on a high calcium diet and her trabecular bone is full she will expel calcium into her kidneys just like any other non laying fowl.​

 

[chickengeorgeto]

After the

trabecular bone is full t​

here is no need to store anymore calcium, because the calcium a hen takes in during the day go's to making the next eggshell. Also since it takes a hen 25.5 hours to make a eggshell she has no problem raising her blood calcium level back up before producing the next shell if she is on a proper diet. Now if a hen takes in a over overabundance of calcium and the

trabecular bone is full her next egg will most likely have calcium deposits on it.​

Now if a hen is no longer laying do to age, molt, season etc., is still on a high calcium diet and her trabecular bone is full she will expel calcium into her kidneys just like any other non laying fowl.​

I don't remember, in fact I never said that a hen has an infinite capacity to process and then store dietary calcium. Those words have been put into my mouth. Quite the opposite is true. Again I don't definitely know but I have no reason to doubt, that the low calcium diet of broiler chickens is at least partly responsible for their leg bones often being crooked . Remember though, that a high calcium diet in young chickens is injurious to the young birds kidneys. The trabecular bone is not a single bone, or even a group of bones but rather a porous region at each end of most weight bearing or long bones that serve as a repository for calcium and other minerals as well as acting like a shock absorber. The accompanying picture is worth a thousand words. The trabecular or spongy part of the bone is at the top in this photo.

 

[Chris09]

I don't remember, in fact I never said that a hen has an infinite capacity to process and then store dietary calcium. Those words have been put into my mouth. Quite the opposite is true. Again I don't definitely know but I have no reason to doubt, that the low calcium diet of broiler chickens is at least partly responsible for their leg bones often being crooked . Remember though, that a high calcium diet in young chickens is injurious to the young birds kidneys. The trabecular bone is not a single bone, or even a group of bones but rather a porous region at each end of most weight bearing or long bones that serve as a repository for calcium and other minerals as well as acting like a shock absorber. The accompanying picture is worth a thousand words. The trabecular or spongy part of the bone is at the top in this photo.

If you go back and read my posts I believe you will see that I never put any words in to your mouth.
My last post was commenting on your post where you said, "Where is the calcium that a normal healthy hen eats stored until she requires that calcium to produce eggshells? It's stored in her skeleton or bones. Her blood stream merely transports that calcium to her shell gland."

Quote: Actually feeding a high calcium diet to any non-laying fowl is injurious to the birds kidneys because they lack a medullary cavity to safely store extra calcium until a time of need.

Quote: I'm well aware what the trabecular bone is and what it does.
The trabecular bone gets its name because it houses trabeculae and will go by other names.
Inside the trabecular bone a lot of things go on but it is only in some female egg laying species and birds being one does a chamber called a medullary cavity get formed right before the egg laying period. The medullary cavity inside the trabecular bone is where calcium needed for eggshells is stored for in the time of need. This cavity allows calcium to be extracted with out causing damage to the trabecular bone.
Most chickens will never dip into this supply of calcium in the medullary cavity do to the high amount of calcium in there layer feed.