Soft damaged eggs

[Joe Strummer]

My Australope chicken has started to lay eggs that are cracking so the yolk/white is laying on its own with the shell in the run or somewhere else in the garden. It also seems that she's laid a couple whilst on the roost so they've been pushed through onto the straw below. Today's may have been as a result of her being pushed out of the nesting area so the egg ended up on the straw. She's about 1.5yrs old and has been an amazing layer for a year or so. The girls all have access to shell grit but I have started to feed some calcium (1mm) and even scrambled egg with powdered eggshells.

Any other things that may be causing the soft, cracked (maybe even no shell or very little shell)? I may have to take her to our avian vet to have her calcium levels checked.

Thanks!!!

 

[azygous]

No need to run up a bill having tests run. You can see that her shells are a problem. It goes further than just thin shells that break easily. Poor calcium absorption can lead to shell-less eggs that get stuck, leading to egg binding, a life threatening issue.

The solution is simple and easy and costs a fraction of what a vet and tests would. Get some calcium citrate as that form is absorbed much more easily than other forms, including egg shells fed back to the hens. One whole tablet given into the beak once a day until eggs are coming out with strong shells. It can take as little as one dose or as much as ten or more. This works except perhaps for very old hens over age nine or ten.

This is the calcium I recommend.

 

[SurferchickinSB]

My Australope chicken has started to lay eggs that are cracking so the yolk/white is laying on its own with the shell in the run or somewhere else in the garden. It also seems that she's laid a couple whilst on the roost so they've been pushed through onto the straw below. Today's may have been as a result of her being pushed out of the nesting area so the egg ended up on the straw. She's about 1.5yrs old and has been an amazing layer for a year or so. The girls all have access to shell grit but I have started to feed some calcium (1mm) and even scrambled egg with powdered eggshells.

Any other things that may be causing the soft, cracked (maybe even no shell or very little shell)? I may have to take her to our avian vet to have her calcium levels checked.

Thanks!!!

Your girls may not be eating the oyster shell. I have to scatter that oyster shells on the ground and then they will eat it. I also save all the egg shells and dry them out and crack them up so they are about the size of confetti and they just gobble those up! My girls used to have trouble until I started giving them the egg shell all the time. You can also start giving her broken up tumms, but the best absorbable form of calcium is their eggshells.

 

[azygous]

Egg shells are calcium carbonate, same as Tums and oyster shell. Not all hens have an easy time digesting it.

There are three different sources of calcium, all different, all digested and absorbed at varying rates of effectiveness. The most common source is calcium carbonate. This is what egg shells, oyster shell, and calcite derived calcium supplements are. It's the highest in calcium, but it's the most difficult to digest and absorb. Some hens absorb it so slowly and inefficiently that it's not able to adequately supply their shell gland. So, they often produce shell-less eggs or very thin shell eggs.

The second kind of calcium is calcium gluconate. It comes from fruits and vegetables. It's not very high in calcium and still hard to digest and absorb.

The third kind of calcium is calcium citrate. It's the by-product of the manufacturing process of making citric acid. This form of calcium is very easy to digest and absorb. For this reason, it works much, much faster than the other two types of calcium. This is the form of calcium that's best to use when a hen is having reproductive issues from the relatively minor one of shell quality to the most serious and life threatening one of egg binding.

 

[Joe Strummer]

Egg shells are calcium carbonate, same as Tums and oyster shell. Not all hens have an easy time digesting it.

There are three different sources of calcium, all different, all digested and absorbed at varying rates of effectiveness. The most common source is calcium carbonate. This is what egg shells, oyster shell, and calcite derived calcium supplements are. It's the highest in calcium, but it's the most difficult to digest and absorb. Some hens absorb it so slowly and inefficiently that it's not able to adequately supply their shell gland. So, they often produce shell-less eggs or very thin shell eggs.

The second kind of calcium is calcium gluconate. It comes from fruits and vegetables. It's not very high in calcium and still hard to digest and absorb.

The third kind of calcium is calcium citrate. It's the by-product of the manufacturing process of making citric acid. This form of calcium is very easy to digest and absorb. For this reason, it works much, much faster than the other two types of calcium. This is the form of calcium that's best to use when a hen is having reproductive issues from the relatively minor one of shell quality to the most serious and life threatening one of egg binding.

Thanks for the advice. Will get some calcium citrate tablets from my chemist. Is it better to feed it whole or ground up?

 

[Joe Strummer]

No need to run up a bill having tests run. You can see that her shells are a problem. It goes further than just thin shells that break easily. Poor calcium absorption can lead to shell-less eggs that get stuck, leading to egg binding, a life threatening issue.

The solution is simple and easy and costs a fraction of what a vet and tests would. Get some calcium citrate as that form is absorbed much more easily than other forms, including egg shells fed back to the hens. One whole tablet given into the beak once a day until eggs are coming out with strong shells. It can take as little as one dose or as much as ten or more. This works except perhaps for very old hens over age nine or ten.

This is the calcium I recommend. View attachment 2581127

Thanks, I can get Citracal from my local chemist which has calcium citrate as the ingredient.

 

[Kiki]

Thanks for the advice. Will get some calcium citrate tablets from my chemist. Is it better to feed it whole or ground up?

Are you feeding a layer type feed? If not start.


Do you feed treats if any kind daily? If so stop.

 

[Joe Strummer]

Are you feeding a layer type feed? If not start.


Do you feed treats if any kind daily? If so stop.

Yes, layer feed. The only treats are some scratch mix, the odd carrot and some rolled oats. Majority of their food is layer mix and whatever they find in the garden.

 

[Kiki]

Yes, layer feed. The only treats are some scratch mix, the odd carrot and some rolled oats. Majority of their food is layer mix and whatever they find in the garden.

Do you feed the scratch and rolled oats daily?

 

[Joe Strummer]

I give a small handful of rolled oats between the 3 of them in the morning sprinkled around the garden. Scratch mix when I need to move them away from the kitchen door.