No egg but large wet mess in the sand with one gooey slimy spot

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I've only been giving shells. I'll pick up some oyster shells. I'm guessing they are at a place like tractor supply?

Or any farm store that sells chicken feed.

 

[Amy Carter]

No need to cook the shells to 'disguise' them... but best to not mix into feed, keep in a separate container for them to eat as needed. I rinse, dry, save, then crush to mix in with oyster shell in this:

Ditto Dat^^^..some animal protein is good too.

Maybe might have been 'thicker than egg white' because it was cold and started to freeze? Or was just the thicker part of the albumen.
Could have been a thinner shell and got kicked out of nest and broke, hard to tell if they've already eaten the shell when you in find the 'wet spot', BTDT. Took me 2 weeks of finding messes before catching one headed out of the nest with shell in beak, had to chase her down to find a very thin shell-thus easily broken and gleefully consumed.

Do your nests have 3-4" front on them to reduce the chance of eggs getting kicked out? New layers are often rather rambunctious about 'fixing' the nest before laying. Curiosity pecking can become a habit, good to gather often if finding wet spots as well as adding fake eggs to nests.

That's a good idea regarding the shell saving and mixing. Do you do that to stretch the oyster shells and make them last longer (egg shells being free and all) or does each provide a different benefit?

 

[Amy Carter]

Or any farm store that sells chicken feed.

Thank you so much

 

[Taylorbrood]

Once they know an egg is a good thing are they going to start trying to peck all of them apart and steal them from nesting boxes? Is there any way to stop it?
Also, the gooey stuff was thicker than egg white...

I've had a few what I call wanna be eggs that got ate by my girls, but they have never attempted to eat one with a hard shell. I did have a hen who laid them on the ground (she had health issues and is now gone to the bridge) and they would roll those eggs around as if to play soccer, but then never went after the eggs in the box.

 

[Taylorbrood]

Thank you so much

purina oyster strong system, you don't have to add oyster shells and it's a complete feed so you don't need supplements. they are doing a challenge right now with coupons my girls are on it, but they were dropping weight (they are a mareks flock) so it was suggested I ferment the feed and so far so good.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

That's a good idea regarding the shell saving and mixing. Do you do that to stretch the oyster shells and make them last longer (egg shells being free and all) or does each provide a different benefit?

Egg shells and oyster shell are both made of calcium carbonate.
The benefit of oyster shell is the large particle size. Therefor it stays in the upper digestive tract longer and reaches the calcium absorption sites in the small intestine at night when eggs are normally in the shell gland.
The benefit of egg shells is that it makes use of something that may otherwise go to waste. I either mix the crushed egg shells in with the oyster shell or put them in the compost. That calcium then ends up in the garden beds.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

purina oyster strong system, you don't have to add oyster shells and it's a complete feed so you don't need supplements. they are doing a challenge right now with coupons my girls are on it, but they were dropping weight (they are a mareks flock) so it was suggested I ferment the feed and so far so good.

You should still keep a separate bowl of oyster shells. Layer ration is a one size fits all ration. Some hens need more, some less. Without oyster shells as an option their only other option is egg eating if they are craving more calcium. Oyster shells are a cheap insurance policy.

 

[Taylorbrood]

You should still keep a separate bowl of oyster shells. Layer ration is a one size fits all ration. Some hens need more, some less. Without oyster shells as an option their only other option is egg eating if they are craving more calcium. Oyster shells are a cheap insurance policy.

i do, although they said to pull it. girls were gorging on the shells in the beginning of the challenge, but now they don't touch them. shells are good, but have one hen that takes forever to lay her egg

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

i do, although they said to pull it. girls were gorging on the shells in the beginning of the challenge, but now they don't touch them. shells are good, but have one hen that takes forever to lay her egg

Some hens seem to make a day out of laying an egg. I have seen some lounging for hours, and some leave without laying. A watched hen will drive you crazy.

 

[chickens really]

I've only been giving shells. I'll pick up some oyster shells. I'm guessing they are at a place like tractor supply?

Hello...You need Oyster shell its higher in Calcium than their egg shells..I used to keep my Shells but no longer bother..Any farm store that sells feed should have it...