Shells visible in poop, soft shell eggs

[chickychicka]

I have a question again! I have a hen that has laid normal ells. She started laying soft shelled eggs, then no-shelled eggs (that she ate), and then molting season started and all of my 3 hens stopped laying. After molting season, I assumed 2 hens started laying again until I found 3 eggs in the nesting boxes, therefore ALL 3 hens are laying! But I am noticing that one egg's shell is getting thinner and thinner.... I know it will be no-shell soon. All my hens eat the same food and free range. BUT I have noticed that one hen's poop shows a lot of undigested shell! She eats the calcium that she gets but she does not digest it right, shells come out again the other end. Why is that? What is not going well in the digestion process? Why is she not absorbing the calcium and just lets it go through? She is still young and lays eggs every to every other day (right after molting she laid perfectly fine eggs for the first few times) What's up with her? Can someone give me insight, please?

 

[donrae]

What breed is she?

What are you feeding them?

What are you using for calcium supplement, their own shells? Oyster shell?

 

[chickychicka]

I am not familiar with any of the 3 different breeds of hens that I have. Attached is a picture of the hen in question. They all get the same all natural feed, it's minimally processed and contains shells fragments. I also feed them their own ground up shell and also ground shell I can find for canary birds, and they roam free in the yard. I am certain she is getting enough calcium, I am afraid she does not process it the same way as the others or not at all as she's pooping the shells out. The other 2 hens never had that issue (one is older and one younger), only this one. What could be reasons for not absorbing calcium correctly?

 

[aart]

What are the nutrient levels and ingredients in this feed?
Do feeds have to be tagged with this info in Italy?

If your other birds are laying fine on what they are eating and this one bird is getting plenty of feed offered,
it could be she has something wrong inside that cannot be determined or corrected.

 

[chickychicka]

Ingredients as listed (no percentages given): broken maize, wheat, sorghum, calcareous marine shells, green grain rice, soybean oil.
Other info: crude protein 8%, crude oils and fats 3.4%, crude fiber 2.09%, crude ash 7.14%, sodium 0.01%, methionine 0.16%, lysine 0.25%.
The problem though is not the food but that she does not digest the calcium shells (well), they come back out recognizable the other end. Why could that be? Do chickens have problems with stomach acids or such or could it be another vitamin deficiency that causes malabsorption of calcium?

 

[aart]

Low nutrition numbers for a regular ration, and I'm surprised there is no calcium percentage.
Is this marketed as a layer ration?
Are there other formulations available?

Not sure why the shell coming thru.....any large pieces of shell should stay in their gizzards.
Sorry, I have no answers for ya.

 

[chickychicka]

There are other brands that have higher ratios, those are all crumble (and even organic which is hard to find here!) but none of my hens like the crumble stuff. They come running when I come to feed them and then look at what I gave them and slowly walk away. I guess they're not hungry enough. Or just really picky.
Thanks anyway to all for the tips!

 

[Cebarmlds]

Apple cider vinegar in the water may help her absorb calcium. About 1 Tablespoon per gallon in plastic waterer not metal.

 

[aart]

Apple cider vinegar in the water may help her absorb calcium. About 1 Tablespoon per gallon in plastic waterer not metal.

Actually the opposite is true....ACV inhibits calcium uptake.

 

[Cebarmlds]

Actually the opposite is true....ACV inhibits calcium uptake.

Oh Really!?