Is there anything else I can do?

[lcammack]

Hi everyone, I am a new chicken owner and I have a question regarding soft, brittle, and jello eggs. Three of our chickens started to lay I would say about 1 month ago. We were getting a green, blue and brown egg every other day, now almost everyday. These eggs were extremely hard and perfectly shaped. Then we started finding two very light tanish eggs that were very fragile broken in the nests or on the poop board, then they went to soft shells, then to jello eggs and sometimes no shell at all, I am assuming these are two new hens just starting to lay. These light eggs have been showing up for about two weeks. Out of those two weeks we have had two that were finally hard enough to handle although mishapen. Then back to soft, broken, rubber eggs? Our hens have been switched over to organic layer pellets for almost 2 weeks and have had free choice oyster shell for almost 2 months. I have ordered Vitamin D3 supplement for the water as per another BYCer that had success with it, but it won't be here for awhile. Any thing else I can do in the meantime? Any reason why this is still ongoing? Thanks in advance for any ideas or suggestions!

 

[Imp]

Maybe this will help:

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...ndbook/16/thinshelled-eggs-and-shellless-eggs

And here are some other sources of calcium.

1. Spinach & Swiss Chard
2. Salmon & Sardines (canned with bones)
3. Mustard, Collard, Kale & Turnip greens
4. Shellfish
5. Blackstrap molasses (can cause runny stools)
6. Corn Tortillas
7. Yogurt
8. Mozzarella & Cheddar cheese
9. Milk, Buttermilk (goat's milk and cow's milk)
10. Basil, thyme, dill seed, cinnamon, and peppermint leaves
11. Romaine lettuce
12. Rhubarb
13. Almonds, Peanuts & Brazil Nuts
14. Black Beans, Dried Beans (Cooked)
15. Sesame seeds
16. Fennel
17. Cabbage, Bok Choy, & Chinese cabbage
18. Summer squash
19. Green beans
20. Garlic
21. Tofu & Soybeans
22. Brussel sprouts & Broccoli
23. Oranges (Some people do not feed citrus to chickens)
24. Asparagus & Okra
25. Crimini mushrooms
26. Foods Fortified with Calcium: Some Orange Juice, Breads, & Cereals

Good luck

Imp

 

[lcammack]

Thank you IMP, I have been giving them 5 or 6 of the foods on the list, but I didn't realize all of those things were beneficial. Thanks for the very complete list! I am still hoping that this is just the new layer syndrome and that once there systems get used to laying they will be okay. I must be doing most things right as I haven't had any responses other then yours! Thanks again.

 

[AZBootsie]

Quote:
It sounds like you are doing every thing right. Not sure why you would be having problems.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
You are certainly welcome. I suspect you are correct and things will get better in the egg dept.

Imp