Shell-less or Soft-shelled ALL THE TIME!!!

[ChicKat]

Lately, I have been hearing a lot of people talking about soft shells and shell-less.

A friend I talked to today said her chickens love spinach, and spinach and broccoli leaves (kale too, I think) contain a lot of calcium. Sometimes we forget the veggies. My chickens won't eat spinach leaves though. She attributed getting rid of her soft shells to the spinach.

 

[Tikkijane]

Out of our 13, we have one (EE) who has recently started laying soft eggs, to the point where it's rare we don't get one that's cracked. Sometimes, it will be fine when laid but then crush when we pick it up (and we're being gentle). We're already doing ACV; free oyster shell, oyster shell mixed in the food, and extra egg shell. I've read that larger particles of calcium stay in their intestinal tract longer, which makes for stronger eggs, fwiw. They get plenty of vitamin D because we are in the desert and it's sunny............... I may have to try some spinach and see if that helps. I've been hoping we could figure something out for her, but not having a lot of luck.

She will have a combo of the soft shell and the extra calcium on the outside of the shell (which brushes off) so it just seems to me her calcium processing is a little wonky. Anyone else have this experience?

 

[kari_dawn]

I just wanted to add that spinach is probably not the calcium source that saved her eggs...yes, spinach is very nutritionally relevant (ie-other really good nutrients), and high in calcium, but spinach does not like to "share" it's calcium...many turtle keepers will advise against spinach for this reason, even stating that spinach will actually interfere with and or even prevent the absorption of calcium from other sources in some cases. I would agree that broccoli and kale are both very good for calcium provision though.

 

[Tikkijane]

I just wanted to add that spinach is probably not the calcium source that saved her eggs...yes, spinach is very nutritionally relevant (ie-other really good nutrients), and high in calcium, but spinach does not like to "share" it's calcium...many turtle keepers will advise against spinach for this reason, even stating that spinach will actually interfere with and or even prevent the absorption of calcium from other sources in some cases. I would agree that broccoli and kale are both very good for calcium provision though.

I wonder if it would be worth a shot, though. My girls don't generally like brocoli at all- it's one of the few things they have not eaten yet.......... so you would not suggest spinach at all if there's a problem? Shoot. If I could feed just her a calc supplement that would work, it would probably be worth it. *sigh* She lays such a nice pretty blue egg.....

 

[kari_dawn]

you could try other things like kale...my birds didn't like it the first couple of times, but now they gobble it down quick...or you could try calcium rich grains like millett....mine go nuts for millett...especially if it is in fresh bread...I make a wheat bread with millet, shelled raw sunflower seeds, amaranth, and sometimes qunoa and flax seed. My girls LOVE when I give them some...now I cannot take any that I am enjoying outside because they will steal it from me!

There are also things like almonds, apricots, and other fruits that are calcium rich. My girls are huge fans of summer apricots too. I love taking afew whole ones and rolling them across the chicken yard...you've never seen so many hefty girls run so fast!

Oh, and don't forget small fish like sardines! I have heard that chickens LOVE them...I have never given mine any...but they are cooked whole in the can, and all the bones in them provide some good calcium.

 

[kari_dawn]

Okay, I did some searching around the vastness of the internet, and found that

3oz of sardines in oil with bones yields 370mg of calcium.
1cup of broccoli yields just 160-180mg of calcium
1/2 cup of cooked kale yields 90-100mg of calcium
100g of finger millet yields 344mg of calcium


so yeah...lol looks like sardines are a darned good choice for calcium....like I said, I have heard that people who give their chickens sardines have found that they love them...the one thing I would be careful about with canned fish is the ammount of salt...but there are lots of good options out there with high calcium content, and we all know chickens can eat just about anything

 

[Tikkijane]

Well, they are outside playing hockey with the broccoli right now; we'll see if they decide to accidently eat some this time.

I have never seen millet here (we are rural) apart from birdseed, fwiw.

We learned last year that there is no way to eat anything outside..............

Well, not unless you want help.... The last time I tried, I was sitting on my rocker with a bowl of popcorn on my head, and they still managed to get to it. We also learned that chickens can jump really high when food is involved.

Personally, we are kinda fond of our fingers these days. LOL.

 

[kari_dawn]

hey, Im not above giving my girls bird seed! I saw some on clearance the other day, and I was like SCORE! That is coming home with me! My girls were more than happy to demolish the mixture of black oil sunflower seeds and millet! They don't need to know I paid 2 dollars for five pounds of seed! LOL

The image of a bowl of popcorn on someone's head and a flock of seagulls...I mean chickens decending down to clean it off comes to mind!

 

[PoultryQueen29]

I have good news and bad news from today. The good news is I got 2 pretty, intact eggs today! One from my EE and one from my Speckled Sussex. The bad news is my Speckled Sussex has got to go. Her egg song is so loud! I'm not even supposed to have chickens in my neighborhood and there is no way I can have a loud one. What breeds are the quietest? My EE and Polish mutt don't make a sound when they lay.

 

[kari_dawn]

I hate to tell you this, but it all depends on the individual bird...and you won't know how loud/long their egg song is going to be until they begin laying. That being said, my easter eggers have been pretty quiet when it comes to the egg song...except for one...she sang it loud and proud for seven full minutes every time she laid an egg. I have also heard that barred rocks tend to be chatty and very vocal about egg laying.