laying half soft shelled eggs?? UPDATE, not good.

[cute chicks here]

I just got 2 new young chickens and for a month they layed perfect eggs and now one is laying the rubbery shelless eggs. Her butt is all messy too and I tried to wipe it off with warm water but it seems she might have runny stoll also. She eats and acts normal when I let her out in the grass but otherwise just sits around in the coop.I give her a good layer food and also the oyster shells and corn. I am also worried about her as my chickens are pets. I only have 3.

 

[LindsayB]

I did some research and tums is okay for chickens. So i crushed a half of one up in some yogurt and she ate all of it. She seems to have perked up a little and is start to "talk" more when i walk out there. Shes my loudest hen. I'll see how she is tomorrow and what kind of egg she lays.

 

[LindsayB]

If i have to give her a tums or calcium pill ever couple of days for the rest of her life i have no problem with that. Just hope it works!

 

[casportpony]

for you!

 

[LindsayB]

She's acting completely normal now!

I'm so confused! lol...

I went to the store and bought calcium pills. Do I crush up the whole pill and give it to her? And how often should I give her a calcium pill? We'll see what she lays tomorrow, hopefully a nice hard egg.

 

[casportpony]

I give them only when I suspect a problem and never more than every other day, but that's not based on anything other than a strange gut feeling that it might not be good to give it too often.

FWIW, My little Old English was egg bound again today, so at 1pm I gave her 500mg calcium and by 1:30pm she laid her egg. This is the second time in a week that I've given calcium to her.

 

[casportpony]

Oh, and I give the pill whole, even to the small ones!

 

[LindsayB]

Well, so far so good. She's her normal self this morning, scratching around in the yard eating everything. She hasn't gone in the nest box yet to lay though. Do you think I should give her another calcium pill today just in case?

 

[casportpony]

I never do mine two days in a row.

 

[LindsayB]

well I got an egg from her today...it had a hard shell but it was very thin and almost transparent on one end...