Mixed flock - 1 bad layer

[Broncos52]

Hello i have a mixed flock of 4 birds about 25 weeks and another 3 right over 12 weeks. They are eating a mixed flock food but one chicken is producing eggs with weak/no shell. All other layers have strong eggs. They have oyster shell in a separate feeder but any other suggestions?

 

[PippinTheChicken]

I can't help you but maybe you can help me?
Is mixed flock food for all ages?

 

[Broncos52]

Yep and you have to feed oyster shell separately like i am but one needs it and doesn't seem to be eating it lol

 

[MomJones]

I've had birds with thin shells. You can try adding organic greens to their diet, or clean grass clippings. You can also add special protein/calcium supplements directly to their food. Lastly, if the shells continue to be thin, I cull so that the flock remains strong and weak genes are not passed down to offspring.

 

[Ridgerunner]

They are eating a mixed flock food but one chicken is producing eggs with weak/no shell.

How long has this been going on? Is it an every time thing or random? Does she occasionally lay a good egg/ A little history might help.

Egg laying of fairly complicated, everything has to be right for a hen to lay a perfect egg. Occasionally a hen had a glitch in that process. If it is a rare occurrence, well I think all of us have a right to an occasional oops. It's when it becomes a regular occurrence that there might be a problem.

Sometimes when a pullet starts her internal egg making factory not everything works great. It may take her a few days to get all the bugs out of that process. Soft shelled or no shell eggs could certainly be one of those problems. Most of the time they work these glitches out pretty quickly but if it goes on for more than a couple of weeks it could be a serious problem.

When I have these types of problems I try to decide if it is a flock problem or an individual hen problem. I don't want to mess up a perfectly good hen by treating her for a problem she doesn't have. This sounds like an individual problem.

If this persists then you have a faulty pullet. Can you identify which one it is? She may not have the instincts to eat the calcium provided. She may have a faulty shell gland that doesn't work the way it is supposed to. Her body may not process calcium the way it should. If you know which it is you can try feeding her extra calcium to see if that helps. If I remember right @azygous has a recommended way to do that.

Good luck, these things can be really frustrating.

 

[Broncos52]

I've had birds with thin shells. You can try adding organic greens to their diet, or clean grass clippings. You can also add special protein/calcium supplements directly to their food. Lastly, if the shells continue to be thin, I cull so that the flock remains strong and weak genes are not passed down to offspring.

Wouldn't that mess up the younger birds? They get a decent amount of grass and i will add all grass clippings to their run for now on

 

[azygous]

When I notice a hen has laid an egg with a very thin shell or a shell-less egg, I give her a calcium citrate tablet.

Often, one table is all it takes to get the eggs coming out with good shells, but you may need to continue one tablet per day until you see decent shells. This is a temporary, high dose calcium supplement, not for daily calcium needs.

You need good quality oyster shell easy available to satisfy daily calcium needs. However, if the oyster shell in your free-choice dispensers has devolved into a powdery residue, it may not be adequate because a hen absorbs more calcium when the particles are larger and remain in the digestive tract longer. The powdery stuff dissolves quickly in the digestive tract, and may not be adequate in supply the hen's calcium needs.

If that is the state of your oyster shell, toss it on your garden and go buy a fresh bag.