New chicken mom and freaked out.

[LhickenChicken]

I’m not sure which hen it was. I was thinking maybe she was just off balance after the big double yolk. Their eggs are still small and very hard/thick. Harder than a normal egg to crack. So I definitely didn’t think about calcium. If I give her calcium citrate, how much? Can it be any kind?

I think so... if the pill is big, you can cut it in half to make it easier to swallow.

 

[Flowerladies]

Hopefully it's just a hiccup in the shell gland of a young hen. Continue feeding good quality layer feed and monitor her. However, this might be the beginning of an infection which can be treated with antibiotics from a veterinarian.

https://extension.uga.edu/publications/detail.html?number=C1255&title=a-dozen-egg-abnormalities-how-they-affect-egg-quality#:~:text=White or Brown Speckled Eggs&text=This process occurs in the,can result in speckled eggs.

Omg. There is the occasional egg with the tiny brown speckles…. Not raised, but the little spots. I’m unclear from the article. Are they saying the tiny spots are too much calcium? Is it always sign of a problem?
Thank you for the article. I have done so much researching and I feel like no matter what you read, someone says the opposite. Or not a problem. So, unless it is clearly a huge problem, it’s hard to know when to worry. (I may never sleep again, lol)

 

[Perris]

Sounds like you've been spooked by the scaremongering. Remember the Hippocratic rule: First, do no harm. If in doubt, do not give your birds concentrated forms (i.e. pills) of anything, especially since they might already be consuming too much of it.

It is easy to disrupt and disturb their metabolism and digestive system with unnatural doses of something a random person on the internet throws out there for you. Relax. At least wait and see if that one hen lays another soft shelled or shell less egg.

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

I would suggest feeding the chickens layer feed instead of all flock feed, as that would help with the calcium issue and create stronger eggshells. I read that your feed only has 16% protein. The correct amount of protein for chickens to be fed is 18%, and unfortunately almost all bags of feed now contain 16% rather than the proper percentage because it is easier for the company to produce it. I feed my chickens cat food on the side as well—the bag I give my chickens contains 30% protein, which is a lot more than they need, but make sure you are only feeding them a small bit and they will be fine. I have done this with my chickens and they all are in great feather quality, health and produce good eggs.

 

[Flowerladies]

I’m looking at photos of “speckled eggs”. Ours look nothing like those. Our spots are very tiny and light in shade.
Is it normal for the shell color to fluctuate?normally they are a tan color. There are some that come out lighter brown (more light tan).

 

[SwampPrincessChick]

Are they saying the tiny spots are too much calcium?

I have not read the linked article yet, but speckles on eggs and calcium spots are very different. Some breeds produce eggs that have small spots of darker (or sometimes lighter) color on them. An example of a breed that produces speckled eggs would be Welsummer. Calcium spots, on the other hand, are hard little lump-like protrusions that stick out of the shell and are caused by the hen consuming too much calcium. They hurt when coming out.

 

[theoldchick]

Omg. There is the occasional egg with the tiny brown speckles…. Not raised, but the little spots. I’m unclear from the article. Are they saying the tiny spots are too much calcium? Is it always sign of a problem?
Thank you for the article. I have done so much researching and I feel like no matter what you read, someone says the opposite. Or not a problem. So, unless it is clearly a huge problem, it’s hard to know when to worry. (I may never sleep again, lol)

There is nothing wrong with speckles on the egg.

 

[Cpgrnwd]

I feed kalmbach all flock 20% and keep oysters shells out. I do the 20% so i can give my girls some extra treats without worrying too much.

 

[Flowerladies]

Sounds like you've been spooked by the scaremongering. Remember the Hippocratic rule: First, do no harm. If in doubt, do not give your birds concentrated forms (i.e. pills) of anything, especially since they might already be consuming too much of it.

It is easy to disrupt and disturb their metabolism and digestive system with unnatural doses of something a random person on the internet throws out there for you. Relax. At least wait and see if that one hen lays another soft shelled or shell less egg.

I’m looking at photos of “speckled eggs”. Ours look nothing like those. Our spots are very tiny and very light in shade.
Is it normal for the shell color to fluctuate? Normally, they are a light tan color. There are some that come out lighter brown (very light tan).

 

[Flowerladies]

I would suggest feeding the chickens layer feed instead of all flock feed, as that would help with the calcium issue and create stronger eggshells. I read that your feed only has 16% protein. The correct amount of protein for chickens to be fed is 18%, and unfortunately almost all bags of feed now contain 16% rather than the proper percentage because it is easier for the company to produce it. I feed my chickens cat food on the side as well—the bag I give my chickens contains 30% protein, which is a lot more than they need, but make sure you are only feeding them a small bit and they will be fine. I have done this with my chickens and they all are in great feather quality, health and produce good eggs.

I have 3 Buffy’s all about 9 mo. They have all been very hearty and happy. They have laid 1 egg a day for a while now.
Yesterday one egg was bigger and I broke it when I picked it up (I’m used to the super thick shells). There were 2 yolks inside.
Today there were three eggs in the coup today as usual.
My daughter was holding one of our girls and she laid an egg without a shell on her lap. It just had a membrane.
I’m wondering if the two situations are connected? This is the first time anything has been different with their eggs.

If it was all the same hen then she laid a double, then one, then un-shelled egg all within 2 days.

What do I do? What do I keep an eye out for?

Thank you so very much for all the help. I really appreciate that you all took time to post back. I’m going to slowly switch to a different kind of feed, buy a fresh bag of shells, keep a very close eye on them. I’m hoping it was a fluke. They have all done so well. Their feathers are gorgeous. They are the Victoria secret models of the Buffy world.