Layer feed?

[Little Fuzzy]

I read onBYC that heating and crushing egg shells before giving them to chickens keeps chickens from associating them with the whole egg and helps prevent egg eaters. I had an egg eater one time and it was a big problem running out there to collect eggs before she cracked them all.

 

[chickens really]

I rinse and dry my egg shells...Never have heated them or baked them...?
I crush them up and mix in with my oyster shells..Never had an egg eater either?

 

[SunHwaKwon]

As long as it's broken up and scattered enough to not look like an egg there's no reason for them to associate it with an intact egg. I dropped an egg while collecting one day and they ran over and are it up but that didn't create any egg eaters either.

 

[dtown2002]

18 weeks and 2 days old...... they are not considered "late layers" at that stage.
They will lay when ready. What breeds do you have in your flock?

A BO, Black Australorp, And a Ancona, the 12 week 1 day old is a EE

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Those breeds should be laying at from 22 to 26 weeks this time of year because of the decreasing day length. The ancona perhaps a bit earlier.
With birds maturing in autumn, I definitely wouldn't start layer feed until you get an egg because you have no idea how long it will be before they need more Ca.

 

[mizz9]

We have 3 chickens, one, our RIR just layed her first egg yesterday. I think another one, our BR is going to be pretty soon. Our BA seems like she might have a while to go still when we checked her pelvic bones they were very narrow still. They are all the same age, 29 weeks old.

We are running low on our last bag of grower feed, maybe a week or two left. Wondering if I should go ahead and purchase layer feed this time?

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Are you already offering oyster shell or some other large particle calcium source?

You could go to layer now or get another bag of grower and offer OS in a separate container.

 

[mizz9]

Got some oyster shells yesterday. Going to see if another of the girls start laying before we run out of food and will make the call when the food is almost out... hoping we have more layers by then!! If not more grower food with oyster shell it is.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

 

[mizz9]

Darnit. The other 2 girls still aren't laying and I put the rest of the grower food in the feeder today. I have put out oyster shells but it doesn't look like they've touched them. Do they just not eat a whole lot of it? They are free range so maybe they are getting a good diet from whatever they are eating in the yard? The one who is laying has really thick egg shells so she seems quite healthy. (This is our first time having backyard eggs, so compared to store bought eggs the shells are super thick!)

I am thinking of getting more grower-feed?? They are 31 weeks old today.