New Welshies not getting calcium?

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

I should also add that I occasionally find an egg out in the yard that has a very rough.. maybe 120 grit shell. And the shell is very thin. Just picking it up too firmly can crack it. Again, i am only suspecting the harlequins because it started shortly after they arrived, they were on a forage/organic layer feed diet, and i have never seen them go for the oyster shells. One of my pekins is molting, so not getting 9 eggs isnt a shocker, ive been around 7-8 daily. Supplementing the other girls calcium is no trouble, they are pigs .

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

8 nice hard eggs this morning
I am going to try again with the meal worms.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

Ugh, 8 eggs this morning, then another sunny side up out by the water bucket. I really have no idea who is the one doing it. I have one pekin molting, looks like heck but acts “normal for her” otherwise. Had a half shell egg this weekend.
i ran out of peas last night, so for lack of them I tried a couple dishes with meal worms soaked in liquid calcium and a bit of water, not wanting my drake into it i called everybody over and set them down and picked him up, intending to give him some calcium free ones elsewhere... no dice, in all the hubbub the dishes got knocked over and no one really seemed interested in the meal worms.. not like peas anyway, and of course the welshies wont touch either and wont try to compete... so i am at a total loss now. The welshies eat a fair amount of food but only when all is quiet an no one else is competing with them. They aren’t overly interested in treats of any form i can think to try, and I have never seen them dip into the oyster shell. SOMEONE has an issue and i can’t figure out who. How much harm would layer feed do to my drake? I wonder about switching to it for a bag or 2 to see if things improve. aside from grabbing each duck and intubating them I just cant figure out how to make sure they are getting calcium... and of course 8 of them are fine.... so I would be treating a whole flock for 1 individual. Any suggestions?
@Miss Lydia
@Isaac 0
@casportpony
@Daphne_loves_mealworms
Who else am I forgetting?

 

[Miss Lydia]

I use layer and starter grower for my flock I have for years. half and half. My drakes must be healthy I have one 10 yrs old June first the others are 5 and 2. I also have a 14 yr old gander, and on 12 yrs old rooster. All healthy.

 

[Isaac 0]

Seth, once they are closed up in the coop at night, I suggest grabbing both of the new WH, and giving them an oral dose of calcium.
If you started receiving softies directly after they arrived it would seem most probable one of them is laying the soft shell egg.
After a few days of doing this, hopefully, you'll see some sort of improvement.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

Seth, once they are closed up in the coop at night, I suggest grabbing both of the new WH, and giving them an oral dose of calcium.
If you started receiving softies directly after they arrived it would seem most probable one of them is laying the soft shell egg.
After a few days of doing this, hopefully, you'll see some sort of improvement.
https://www.backyardchickens.com/ar...dications-to-all-poultry-and-waterfowl.73335/

1Ml/bird /day? Or should I try a bit more?

 

[Isaac 0]

1Ml/bird /day? Or should I try a bit more?

The recommended dose for calcium gluconate using the 23% product is 0.2ml per pound of bodyweight - for a five-pound bird that would be 1ml a day. I would try no more than that.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

The recommended dose for calcium gluconate using the 23% product is 0.2ml per pound of bodyweight - for a five-pound bird that would be 1ml a day. I would try no more than that.

we dosed them tonight, .8 per bird, it was too traumatic to weigh them, so I guessed on average weight. I found a soft shell in the water bucket that is in their coop, seems they are everywhere. ugh. I only dosed the welshies, I was considering my pekin, but decided to follow advice and try them first. it is true it started with them, I occasionally get a thin shelled egg that is very rough. all of this is new to the harlequins.

 

[Stoney Meadow Maple]

so assuming this works, what then? switch to layer feed? I have tried every treat I can think of, these guys have been foragers all along and don't get in on feed time. I sprinkled meal worms on top of the calcium bowl, I have out 3 oyster shell bowls for their convenience, tried a different brand of oyster shell, I am kind of at a loss as to how to get them to take it.. frankly I think they are kinda dumb.

 

[Isaac 0]

so assuming this works, what then? switch to layer feed? I have tried every treat I can think of, these guys have been foragers all along and don't get in on feed time. I sprinkled meal worms on top of the calcium bowl, I have out 3 oyster shell bowls for their convenience, tried a different brand of oyster shell, I am kind of at a loss as to how to get them to take it.. frankly I think they are kinda dumb.

They are newcomers; the previous owners likely didn't provide oyster shells, so they have no clue what the white shells are for. Over time, as they get better acclimated to the flock, I bet they will see the other flock members eating the shells, and they will slowly learn.
Most calcium supplements are fairly soluble in water.
That would be another route to get the calcium inside them, if you lock them inside the coop, and provide a dish of water laced with calcium.
If they don't drink the water, I think they might actually be chickens.