Oyster Shell fed Silkie still laying soft empty shells.

[Dulcijean]

I've been mixing oyster shell crumble in with the lyena feed for over a month and am still getting an empty soft shell from one of my silkies. I feed her DE and dust her for mites often. Her weight is good , she is not molting, and she looks healthy. What could be wrong?

 

[Sally Sunshine]

how old is she? WAS she ever laying good eggs?

Hi !

Egg shell quality is primarily dependent upon the proper amounts of vitamins and minerals in the diet. Calcium and vitamin D3 are the crucial nutrients involved in egg shell formation. Calcium functions in the actual egg shell formation. Egg shells are comprised of 95% calcium carbonate. Vitamin D3 is critical for the absorption of calcium by the hen. Poultry can synthesize a portion of vitamin D3 through exposure to sunlight but additional vitamin D3 is necessary in the diet. An excess of any of these major nutrients involved in shell formation can result in weak or soft eggs shells and reduced egg production. Purina

http://poultrykeeper.com/egg-problems/

Here are links I have saved in regards to eggs.....

http://neospark.com/images/EggshellDefects.pdf

http://idosi.org/wasj/wasj12(3)/21.pdf

http://www.motherearthnews.com/mode...chicken-egg-quality-all-you-need-to-know.aspx

http://www.plamondon.com/dollar_chap11.pdf

 

[Dulcijean]

Poultrykeeper.com was the best. Thank you so much for the time you took to answer my question.

 

[Sally Sunshine]