Rhode Island Reds have weak shells - do yours??

[jomoncon]

I have 8 RIRs that started laying about a month ago. From the start, they have had incredibly strong egg shells. I started giving them oyster shells about a week before they started laying, and feed their crushed egg shells back to them. Along with their chicken feed, they get a lot of fresh veggies and meat scraps.

 

[wingsofglory]

That's wonderful. Where did you get them from? I'm trying to find out which hatchery has a good strain of them with strong shells. And are yours production Reds, or old style Reds?

 

[jomoncon]

I just picked them up at a local feed store. Since this was my first venture into chickens, I didn't know anything about ordering online. Here are some of them today at 26 weeks old, enjoying a piece of early season watermelon & turning my backyard into craters-ville!! Notice that there's very little grass where they're allowed to free range.

 

[Carrie Lynn]

My RIR from Meyer has strong shells. At one point they were a bit thinner but oyster shell corrected that in a week or so.

 

[hsdiaz]

Quote:
I think you're right...our RIR was laying well for a few weeks then started with soft-shelled eggs. She's only 6 months old, so I'm thinking it's because she's new at this. But she gets oyster shell and ground up eggshell. Our EE has nice, hard shells. Sometimes the RIR will drop a soft shell from her roost, and another yolk with nothing else. It's like her ovaries are dropping eggs faster than she can fully process them. She's been laying normally for a week or so, but I worry when I see her in the nest box but then later there's no egg...like she's trying but can't pass it or something. I'm hoping this straightens out as she gets older!

 

[annep]

Mine usually bounce back within a day or two of feeding the calcium..I dont always get around to doing the egg shells, but their feed has the oyster shell in it..we just mix it in...I can always tell when someone forgot to put it in the feed! Oh, and I have 8 RIR's that we got from a lady who was downsizing

 

[7L Farm]

My Texas Reds have hard shells. I have to hit them twice on the pan to open them. Store bought was only once.

 

[blueseal]

my reds came from mt healthy hatchery . they are nice hard shells.

 

[Nicole01]

My SS won't eat oyster shell on her own. Once a day I put feed in a bowl and sprinkle the powdery oyster shell over the feed and wet it down. My girls love wet mash and eat it up like crazy. After a couple days her egg shells became super strong.

 

[CluckCluck18]

My RIR, Ruby does that, too. It's worse in summer.....it's so hot here that she doesn't eat enough feed and she's a treat hound.....eats more veggie and fruits so I have to watch her. I've been adding some calcium to the food and cod liver oil for vitamin D.....I give it to them soaked in bread and that does the trick!