captbridgers
In the Brooder
- Jul 15, 2015
- 22
- 3
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My hens are quasi free-roaming. They are out in an acre of total area about 3-4 hrs per day. They love to dig & scratch for bugs. They love "greens"(except broccoli). They are (all six) laying & have been for a month or more. Nearly every morning, I cut up some greens, full cup of crushed oyster shells, & 3 cups of multigrained cracked corn. They are given an unending supply of Nutrena layer feed & have a constant-feed water supply. When they are not free-rangiing, they have a circular pen using over 200 feet of fencing. I do, occasionally, sit down in the backyard & "pull" one half of a chicken breast(cooked, of course) into long strings& feed by hand. They go bananas over this protean treat. No problems 'til this morning when one laid a paper-thin-shelled egg & booted it out of the nest onto the straw-covered floor below. It did not break. My first question is simple, "Am I giving them too much greens"? Second question...if not too much greens, what would cause a paper-thin shell? What about the other diet items? or is this just one of those things that happen occasionally? captbridgers