Not eating oyster shells?

[Backyard-chicken-owner]

Hi everyone you might remember me with my little chicks if not, Hello! My chicks are now so big (they grow up so fast) but anyways, I have 1 rooster and 3 hens 2 out of 3 are laying but now here in New Jersey it getting cold so they stopped. But recently I found a soft shell egg that was broken (either by them pecking it or stepping on it) and I tried feeding them egg shells and theyLOVED IT and I thought I was in the clear for now. Oh also the first one that laid her eggs were fine and had strong eggs, but the second had either shell less eggs or rubber eggs. I went out and bought some oyster shells but it seems like she doesn’t even want it. I gave it to them in a dish and they would peck it and drop it. I only saw one chicken actually eat it but just one oyster shell. Any tips on how to help them eat it? Also just Incase you wanted to see how they looked there they are (my beautiful silkie rooster)

 

[Willow2253]

It’s best to just give them free choice of oyster shell. You can sprinkle some around the dish to encourage them, but they don’t need to eat very much, so they could be doing it when you’re not looking. If your hens are young then they may still be figuring out how much they need, they’ll get there eventually. A soft shelled egg every once in a while isn’t all that uncommon, especially for newer layers.