so few eggs, relatively, 4 a few days -- mystery solved!

amiachicknorwat

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Hi, the day forest fire smoke, mainly from distant fires, entered our valley, our 9 laying hens acted very tentative and that day we got only 2 eggs. Usually we get 5 or 6. The next day we got 3 and it went like that for 4 days. Only yesterday my partner found 14 eggs under the coop, where they get a little dry dirt bath, like they so like. So I layed down straw under there and today found one egg with egg smeared on it. Seems they ate one. Maybe they need calcium. I have dried egg shells in preparation to feed them back. Now seems the time. It's on my plate for tomorrow.
 
I'd be locking those cluckers up in the coop for a few days to a week to get them in the habit of laying in the coop nests.

What exactly and all are you feeding?
They need good protein levels and a calcium source(oyster shells are much better than feeding back chicken egg shells).
 




Hi Aart, Pic'ed is the tag from the stuff they love what seems like too much. They plainly complain when they dont get it and their pecking order stands out graphically clear when they do get it. I fear the younger chicks are getting elbowed out of their share. I do also give them scratch and a selective mix of garden compost. Plus I've included our main garden compost pile within their run. Now when I'm working in the garden I let them in there where they help keep grasshopper activity down.

I bought oyster shells. They looked somewhat processed already, but also look to be a size too big for the bird's digestion, given the extra hardness of them too. I heard eggshells were the most bioavailable to them. I feel food should be delicate, from where we get the word delicacy for the most choice foods. Seems I should crush the oyster shells up smaller, but how small? The oyster shells I got are oval and approx. 3/8" in length. Thanks, Nick
 




Hi Aart, Pic'ed is the tag from the stuff they love what seems like too much. They plainly complain when they dont get it and their pecking order stands out graphically clear when they do get it. I fear the younger chicks are getting elbowed out of their share. I do also give them scratch and a selective mix of garden compost. Plus I've included our main garden compost pile within their run. Now when I'm working in the garden I let them in there where they help keep grasshopper activity down.

I bought oyster shells. They looked somewhat processed already, but also look to be a size too big for the bird's digestion, given the extra hardness of them too. I heard eggshells were the most bioavailable to them. I feel food should be delicate, from where we get the word delicacy for the most choice foods. Seems I should crush the oyster shells up smaller, but how small? The oyster shells I got are oval and approx. 3/8" in length. Thanks, Nick
Yeah, I'd lock em up in their coop so they get used to laying in there. Mine are in the coop now also! No more poison ivy patch eggs for me!
 
As the guy who sold me the hens said, "every jailbird deserves a prison yard", so I dunno wanna shut them up. They get a little squirrelly as is when I let them out late. Plus, now I know where they lay outside and I'm not too squeamish to reach under there to grab them. I find it interesting their timing in making the switch. Not at all sure what to make of it. If they lay anywhere else it's just like an Easter egg hunt. Daily? Yeah, that could get old quick, but our run aint ginormous either. ...just learned they laid all eggs back in the coop's nesting boxes, for today. Interesting to observe their behaviour without intervening where I dont have to. I understand many haven't the time for such bird-brained antics, but we finally got a many hands make work light thing going.

Then with regard to serving them oyster shells, I threw some into the yard today. The birds reflexively ran over to see what treat this time and they didn't even peck at the oyster shells. From what I've heard thus far, chickens need grit in their guts and will ingest grit, but at what size, partic for oyster shells? And are they normally buried in their crumble or scratch? Thanks
 
17% is fine but any other food you give dilutes that.....depending on the content and amount.

They can swallow the crushed oyster shell just fine, they don't chew it up, and it dissolves slowly all the time so their systems can absorb it.
It's actually more available for longer than chicken egg shells, but mixing some egg shells in won't hurt and can help.

They might not eat them right away, especially if they are expecting you to throw food,
they should not be mixed in feed but left in a separate container always available.

3/8" sounds pretty large..... some of mine is almost that big, measured with a caliper I found a few that were 0.31".
Nothing wrong with getting the hammer out and smashing them up some more.
Here's visual of what I get from the feed mill...with a quarter for scale

 
Wow, you've showed me yours, I should show you mine. As processed as my oyster shells look, they still look flakey as they would if you chipped off pieces from a whole shell. Mine look processed in some way making them look bleached or cooked, shrug. Yours look chunky, as if crushed and mother of pearl-looking part was excluded. I dunno, but I'm gonna use your size as a benchmark for their ingestion/digestion. My birds literally look askance at the oyster shells I got as they 3/8" ballpark are. Gotta get my mortal and pestle out. Plus I enjoyed the ventilation read -- helped. Thanks Again, Nick
 


Hi Aart, My quarter is Canadian, but I believe they're the same size maybe so to accommodate parking meters, given all our cross-border car traffic. Check out the size of those oyster shell flakes. I'm afraid if I were a bird eating those they may get caught in and even lacerate my throat? And this picture was taken after pounding with a pestle.
 


Hi Aart, My quarter is Canadian, but I believe they're the same size maybe so to accommodate parking meters, given all our cross-border car traffic. Check out the size of those oyster shell flakes. I'm afraid if I were a bird eating those they may get caught in and even lacerate my throat? And this picture was taken after pounding with a pestle.
Yah, that's odd looking stuff.
Was it sold as being for chickens?
Maybe a different kind of oyster?
I don't like the sharp edges either.
Another option might be a cuttlebone, found in pet shops for parrots and parakeets.
 
Yeah, the store is even called Eggcetera! Is that from cuttlefish. I've seen and handled those bones. I bet they'd be more readily assimilable and not so over time-released. I'll phone them today and query. Thanks Again, Nick
 

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