I have had three soft / very thin shelled eggs over the past week (none normal) from my large black orpington hen, Molly, who is about 11 or 12 months old. This morning there was one on the floor that had cracked and been eaten, and the shell was soft. There have never been any problems with Molly before.
Some of you may know that last year, I had a problem with Matilda, who was laying thin shelled eggs, to the point where she had eggs crack inside her. She survived the first bout with the help of antibiotics, but it happened again in November 06, and she died.
These two hens never met each other (Molly was bought just after Matilda died, as a companion for Lily), and to my knowledge, neither of them ever had IB. Both, however, had scaly leg mite (passed from Matilda to Lily to Molly, but now eradicated) although I don't see how that could have effected it.
I am now beginning to wonder if it is their feed that is causing it. They are mainly fed layers pellets, with a small handful of grain between them maybe once a week, and a small amount of grass several times a week. There is grit & oyster shell available ad-lib, but TBH they never seem to eat any. Matilda had the same diet, and the same brand of layers pellets (Allan & Page Smallholder Range Natural Free Range Layers Pellets).
The composition of the layers pellets are as follows (this is copied from the packet):
Protein - 16%
Fibre - 5%
Moisture - 13.8%
Vitamin A - 6.8 m/kg (printing is a bit dodgy on that one)
Vitamin D - 3.0 m/kg
Vitamin E - 20 m/kg as Alpha T ocopherol as acetate
Oil - 3.5%
Ash - 14%
Methionine (an amino acid) - 0.3%
Ingredients by descending weight -
Wheat, Wheat feed, Soya, Calcium Carbonate, Peas, Grass Meal, Maize Fna (?!), bean and linseed, Di-Calcium Phosphate, Sodium Chloride.
Could the problem lie with the layers pellets, is it genetic (although none of my hens are related to each other) is it to do with a problem that they may have had before I bought them? This is VERY odd.
PS The best before date is 19th September 2007, and I have never to my knowledge used feed that is past it's best before date. It is stored in a metal dustbin with thick rubber lid, in the (slightly damp) garage, so that it is dry and vermin free.
Some of you may know that last year, I had a problem with Matilda, who was laying thin shelled eggs, to the point where she had eggs crack inside her. She survived the first bout with the help of antibiotics, but it happened again in November 06, and she died.
These two hens never met each other (Molly was bought just after Matilda died, as a companion for Lily), and to my knowledge, neither of them ever had IB. Both, however, had scaly leg mite (passed from Matilda to Lily to Molly, but now eradicated) although I don't see how that could have effected it.
I am now beginning to wonder if it is their feed that is causing it. They are mainly fed layers pellets, with a small handful of grain between them maybe once a week, and a small amount of grass several times a week. There is grit & oyster shell available ad-lib, but TBH they never seem to eat any. Matilda had the same diet, and the same brand of layers pellets (Allan & Page Smallholder Range Natural Free Range Layers Pellets).
The composition of the layers pellets are as follows (this is copied from the packet):
Protein - 16%
Fibre - 5%
Moisture - 13.8%
Vitamin A - 6.8 m/kg (printing is a bit dodgy on that one)
Vitamin D - 3.0 m/kg
Vitamin E - 20 m/kg as Alpha T ocopherol as acetate
Oil - 3.5%
Ash - 14%
Methionine (an amino acid) - 0.3%
Ingredients by descending weight -
Wheat, Wheat feed, Soya, Calcium Carbonate, Peas, Grass Meal, Maize Fna (?!), bean and linseed, Di-Calcium Phosphate, Sodium Chloride.
Could the problem lie with the layers pellets, is it genetic (although none of my hens are related to each other) is it to do with a problem that they may have had before I bought them? This is VERY odd.
PS The best before date is 19th September 2007, and I have never to my knowledge used feed that is past it's best before date. It is stored in a metal dustbin with thick rubber lid, in the (slightly damp) garage, so that it is dry and vermin free.