Shirley started laying 2 weeks ago when she was 14 weeks old. Up untill 5 days ago, we had been getting eggs almost everyday at about 2 in the afternoon, and most of them were double yolkers. Then for three days she wouldnt lay an egg, and appeared to be straining. Now, for the past two days her eggs have been shell-less, and she has been laying in the early morning. We feed them commercial layer feed, which contains calcium, grit, vitamins, minerals, and corn. We also feed them a large amount of fruit and vegetables, as well as leftover porridge in the mornings. They have a pen in the frount garden where we put them for an hour or so every evening. Two of the other hens have started laying, and we have had no problems with them so far. I have spoken with my aunt, who is a vet and an owner of chickens herself. She says that Shirley may have been egg-bound for the past three days, and is now passing the eggs that had collected. My aunt suggested moving Shirley and a companion to a separate pen to give her a bit of space for a few days, and to supply her with extra calcium, such as yougurt. I have put Shirley and Analise in a separate pen, where they have full access to food, water, shelter, a nest box, sunbathing, grass and my window directed right over them. My question is, what else could I do/do better?
Can you get oyster shell there? It's pretty standard in the US as a calcium supplement. Most people leave a dish of it out to eat as needed and avoid those shell less eggs. You can also feed their own egg shells dried and crushed up back to them to recover some of the calcium. That would provide a lot more calcium than yogurt.
