Jelly Eggs

[Stacykins]

My ducks have been laying for a few months. Great layers for Pekins, nearly an egg a day from both! But one of them shoots the occasional shell-less egg. This wasn't a problem, until now. For the past few weeks one been dropping a jelly egg! Which is a problem, since if I can't get to it in time, the chickens feast. It already caused my best laying hen to become an egg eater of solid shelled eggs. So as you can tell, I want it to stop.

The thing is, is that the ducks get layer mash, what the chickens get. It has the higher calcium, and my chickens all have shells so strong it can be hard to crack them! I also keep some oyster shell crumble in a pan in the coop for them to take as needed. So she should be getting enough calcium. I don't want to overdo calcium, since hypercalcaemia is bad for animals too.

I do have some high calcium gel meant for goats, called Cal-C Fresh. Given that it is calcium, b vitamins, vitamin c, and vitamin E, it couldn't hurt the ducks...unless I overdosed it.

What should I do? I don't want either one of them to have laying problems, since jelly eggs can break internally and cause problems, plus it has led to my flock having egg eaters.

 

[70%cocoa]

How often would you say that your duck lays a shell-less egg? If it is a regular thing, then it can be a sign of an infection of the shell gland (where the shell is put on) rather than a problem with a calcium deficiency. That's one possibility anyhow. I had a duck with this problem, and a 30 day course of antibiotics (from the vet) fixed it. I think she had Baytril (or the slightly cheaper alternative, called Enrotril). It made a big difference to the shell quality - her eggs are close to normal now (a little rough textured now and then is all).

Is a vet visit a possibility?