myusername
Hatching
Good morning all. First I would just like to say how awesome of a resource this website is. I have come to this site for the last three years for guidance and am confident the reason I have a happy healthy flock is due in no small measure due to the information gleaned here. However despite scouring the forums I have come up against a problem I cannot find an answer to.
Most people would love to have the issue I am having, that is I cannot get my hens to slow down production during the times it is expected. I would no be complaining except I believe now it is affecting their health. We started our first flock just over a year and a half ago and is a mix of Red Sex Links, Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds. After they came into lay our daily production rates have been in the upper 90s and sometimes at 100%. They have shown no signs of slowing down and have not so much as dropped a feather in hint of a moult. Within the last few months I have noticed an increase in thin shelled eggs, abnormalities in the shells and some just simply odd shaped eggs. I ruled out illness or disease and the next logical step was looking at their calcium intake. I have them on a layer feed with a 3.7-3.9% calcium content and they have ample access to oyster shell.
I guess the question I have is A) Could their egg production be outpacing their calcium intake and B) If this is the case are there any recommendations to get them to slow down allowing them to recuperate or how to increase the calcium intake to keep up?
Most people would love to have the issue I am having, that is I cannot get my hens to slow down production during the times it is expected. I would no be complaining except I believe now it is affecting their health. We started our first flock just over a year and a half ago and is a mix of Red Sex Links, Barred Rocks and Rhode Island Reds. After they came into lay our daily production rates have been in the upper 90s and sometimes at 100%. They have shown no signs of slowing down and have not so much as dropped a feather in hint of a moult. Within the last few months I have noticed an increase in thin shelled eggs, abnormalities in the shells and some just simply odd shaped eggs. I ruled out illness or disease and the next logical step was looking at their calcium intake. I have them on a layer feed with a 3.7-3.9% calcium content and they have ample access to oyster shell.
I guess the question I have is A) Could their egg production be outpacing their calcium intake and B) If this is the case are there any recommendations to get them to slow down allowing them to recuperate or how to increase the calcium intake to keep up?