- Thread starter
- #11
Follow along with the video below to see how to install our site as a web app on your home screen.
Note: This feature may not be available in some browsers.
You could also try some vitamin supplements. They will help the ducks better absorb additional calcium.
Oh my, an egg-stealing snake would defiantly be stressful. I don't know if it might be a delayed reaction; I have no personal experience just knowledge from research. You said there were a couple of days with no eggs. Could there be another snake or something else taking the eggs?
Are you good at math? If so, weigh the the amount of powder in a scoop and figure out how many scoops of powder you need to give each hen about 50mg per pound. If you aren't good at math, let me know how much a scoop weighs and I'll give a a try.
-Kathy
Excellent!
-Kathy
Are you good at math? If so, weigh the the amount of powder in a scoop and figure out how many scoops of powder you need to give each hen about 50mg per pound. If you aren't good at math, let me know how much a scoop weighs and I'll give a a try.
-Kathy
Not great at math (my Ph.D. is in Psychology , but I will give it a shot.
The ducks are about 6 lbs each so 300 mg per duck. Each scoop is 2 g so I have been giving them about 2000mg per day for the 3 to split or 660 mg each (assuming they all get an equal share). Maybe I am overdosing them?
Might too MUCH calcium cause the thin shells? When the eggs were normal I would see occasion specks of calcium (shell) on the outside of the shells but it was not all the time.
Excellent!
-Kathy
I hesitated posting that picture because I did not want to offend the snake lovers
I gave them a larger-then-normal dose of calcium yesterday, and, sadly, this morning, again, all the duck eggs were broken and the shells were thin as paper.
I did more research and I have a theory:
I am giving them tons of calcium and they get a great deal from our soil and their diet, so, I am beginning to think that calcium is NOT the problem. However, for them to properly metabolize the calcium, they must have sufficient vitamin D.
Now we are in the so-called 'sunshine state' of FL (a misnomer by the way), and we have had an exceptionally bad rainy season this year with over 52" of rain since May. (almost twice our YEARLY average). Additionally, we have had full weeks where the sun never came out (I am especially aware of this because we have solar panels on our roof and when there is no sun, we wind up using more power from the electric company (grrrr).
Anyway, since birds do receive vitamin D from the sun, like all animals, and since we have had almost no sunshine since May, it is not a great reach to assume that they are lacking in vitamin D.
To test this theory, I am going to give them vitamin D for a couple of days, without changing anything else that I have been doing, and see what happens. One thing I have noticed is that changes in their diet seem to have an immediate effect on their eggs, so it will not be long before I have my answer.
It seems very logical to me that without the sun, all the calcium in the world may not be enough for their body's to produce solid shells.
I will report back and let you know the results and if they are positive, maybe it will help someone else with a similarly frustrating problem.