Oyster shell and rubber eggs

[R2elk]

Some of the young toms we butchered we internally greasy, than I had a hen prolapse, which is often caused by internal fat. Since I have cut back on the boss they are a bit healthier I think. You can't necessarily tell if stuffs going on internally until you get a look inside, or lose birds.

Boss is a good "treat" especially during the molt. But as you know, it needs to be on a limited basis. I think we both agree that poultry owners can be very harmful to their "pets" by over feeding "treats".

https://articles.extension.org/pages/69042/synthetic-methionine-and-organic-poultry-diets

 

[R2elk]

I personally don't treat illness here and we cull as necessary. My birds are healthy and happy. Birds also need plenty of room to move and fresh air. No bringing in random birds with random diseases, and keeping things as stress free as possible which often includes removing excess males.

I think people complicate poultry keeping. That's about all I got.

I may treat a random injury depending on its severity. Turkeys for the most part are very resilient and minor injuries heal well without any assistance.

Any sign of illness results in immediate culling and proper disposition of the carcass. I have a very healthy flock and have not culled any in a very long time.

The less crowded it is, the more likely a flock is to be healthy. My birds get to free range daily but when they are not let out there is still normally 600+ sq. ft. per adult turkey in their run.

 

[Noellereagan]

Okay. Thanks for all the good advice. I’ll get some oyster shell tomorrow but for the am I hard boiled two dozen eggs. Can the toms get shells too? How much should I offer each flock?I have one with a Tom and three hens plus a little NH roo, and two more- both consisting of two toms each. I usually give them each a peeled hardboiled egg once per week but I’m curious if the toms can eat shells. And will the eating of shells and eggs cause egg eating? I’ve not had any problems yet. I’ve read it usually won’t but I imagine it’s possible. Thoughts?

 

[Crazydoglady99]

My bantam chickens are 9yrs old, I have been giving them hard boiled eggs (inc shell) their entire lives, and cracking freshly laid eggs for them to eat heir entire lives, and they have never ever pecked one of their own eggs in the nest.

So I reckon just roughly mash it (with shell) and you're all good!

 

[Noellereagan]

My bantam chickens are 9yrs old, I have been giving them hard boiled eggs (inc shell) their entire lives, and cracking freshly laid eggs for them to eat heir entire lives, and they have never ever pecked one of their own eggs in the nest.

So I reckon just roughly mash it (with shell) and you're all good!

Toms and all?

 

[R2elk]

Okay. Thanks for all the good advice. I’ll get some oyster shell tomorrow but for the am I hard boiled two dozen eggs. Can the toms get shells too? How much should I offer each flock?I have one with a Tom and three hens plus a little NH roo, and two more- both consisting of two toms each. I usually give them each a peeled hardboiled egg once per week but I’m curious if the toms can eat shells. And will the eating of shells and eggs cause egg eating? I’ve not had any problems yet. I’ve read it usually won’t but I imagine it’s possible. Thoughts?

It probably won't hurt the toms but I would not give the toms the egg shells.

 

[oldhenlikesdogs]

I feed all my turkey eggs back to my turkeys. I crack and splat them. They hens fight over the shells, running back and forth with them. Both sexes eat the egg contents. So from my experiences the toms aren't interested in the shells.

 

[Suzi18]

I have two turkey hens. Broad breasted. They are laying like mad (26 eggs in the last week). That’s okay because I only have broad breasted toms and know the chance of a successful breeding is slim to none.
I have them on a mix of 15% grower (1/2) and 16% layer (a little over 1/4) and 18% game bird because they’re in a winter molt (a little less than 1/4 of their ration) and fresh bananas daily or whatever else I may pick up that day.
They are going on 26 weeks this week. I know young birds can have rubber eggs when they start laying. I found two - two days in a row. It was laid far from the nest that the two hens have been taking turns laying and sitting. I also took in a broad breasted white hen but the Tom doesn’t like her so she steers clear of where the rubber eggs were laid otherwise I’d think she laid them because she came to me very malnourished a few weeks ago. But the Tom statys near where the rubber eggs were laid. There was also two normal eggs laid in this area of the coop. All three hens have access to the area.
My biggest question is this: I read it’s normal for young hens to lay a rubber egg when they start laying but that if it continues to happen it’s indicative of a problem. Is one two days ina row uncommon for 27 week old hens?
Also, with the ground snow covered in Wisconsin they don’t have access to grit. Should I be feeding oyster shells for egg production and grit for that matter and if so- should it be free fed? Can the toms have it too? Or should I provide something else for grit? Or is the all flock food sufficient for the grit?
Thanks to anyone in the community who may choose to help me here. There’s a ton of conflicting info out there about turkeys and providing grit.

How did 2 hens lay 26 eggs in 1 week?

 

[HeatherlyHash]

I am having this same issue, but with my chickens. 3 of my hens started laying a couple of weeks ago, but one has produced soft eggs the past 2 days. I read that this can happen early on, but I am concerned because she started laying them just fine and now all of a sudden they are soft. They are getting layer crumble and free range for a few hours every day. Any help is appreciated.

 

[Noellereagan]

I did as directed From poster above, and for a immediate purposes I fed hard boiled egg crushed with the shell and then I switched over to purina layena
And free fed oyster shell, and I didn’t get one more rubber egg!