My New Hampshire pullet keeps laying eggs without or very thin shells.

Hi All,

My five pullets (all different breeds) started laying about a month ago. Four of them have had regular shells on them and are starting to get larger (especially my White Jersey Giant). The New Hampshire Red has never laid an egg with a real shell. Now she will go a number of days without laying then I will find two of them on top of the hutch where she roosts.

They are free fed Purina Layena, they have free choice calcium available to them, and and water(at all times) with vitamins in it. They free range anywhere from 4 - 12 hours a day (whenever we are home to watch them). They have a 6 x 8 house with an attached 8 x 10 yard they stay in when we are not home. I only have one rooster so there are only six of them altogether.

"Red" literally runs out of the house when I release them and down to the horse manure or corral area. She spends most of her day sifting and eating bugs out of the manure piles. Could her eating mainly bugs cause her to have a calcium deficiency?

Thanks to all who answer.

Vickie
Kelso, WA

 

Quote:Sad to say not one.

 

Quote:I could do that but then all the others would suffer. They so love to be out and picking through the corrals and yard. The reason I got chickens in the first place was to help with bug control from the manure. She is A+ at that so she is doing what I wanted her to do. I get lovely eggs from the other four so it is no big deal if she never lays a proper egg.

Thanks for the idea though.