Sometimes it takes a lot of calcium citrate to help an old hen build an egg shell

[BigBlueHen53]

Thank you @Sueby for contributing some very valuable and interesting information to this thread. Few people are aware of the extent that calcium is crucial to a hen's health and body functions, not just egg laying.

My biggest concern for my hen is that if she isn't absorbing enough calcium to make a decent shell, the risk of sudden death syndrome increases. This happens when a hen has low calcium levels and her body pulls all the available calcium from her blood stream to make a shell and this robs her heart of calcium needed to keep it beating, causing a heart attack and death.

This is why I keep the bottle of citrate in my run so it's handy to give a hen exhibiting signs of having trouble passing an egg. My thinking is that giving her an easily absorbable cacium tablet on her way in to lay a difficult egg could help her avoid sudden death from her body draining all her available calcium. Egg laying can be risky business for a hen under some circumstances.

So if we make oyster shell available for our hens to free-feed, the chances of them overdosing themselves on it is pretty much zero, is that right? It's completely safe to leave it there all the time, right?

 

[Cryss]

So if we make oyster shell available for our hens to free-feed, the chances of them overdosing themselves on it is pretty much zero, is that right? It's completely safe to leave it there all the time, right?

Yes, exactly right. Oyster shell should be offered 24/7/365. I don’t allow food or water inside the coop, only in the run. However I have a feeder inside the coop that I keep filled with oyster shell.

 

[azygous]

It's absolutely safe to leave oyster shell out at all times for hens to help themselves when they crave it. There is no danger at all that they will overdose on it. Its carbonate form practically guarantees this.

 

[Dreammaker]

Glad to see this, as I've also been dealing with soft eggs. And glad to see Wheezie seems to be making progress!

I did see some encouraging signs as well, like you. I added oyster shell about a month ago and I wonder if it just takes that long to have a real impact on their calcium levels, especially if they only pick at it here and there. What I gather from previous replies here is that chickens utilize a great deal of calcium and something like oyster shell isn't enough to be a "quick fix" on its own, but is more of a long-term preventive maintenance kinda thing that can't hurt.

 

[Allsfairinloveandbugs]

I have given those supplements but usually crushed them first. Are chickens able to swallow those big pills whole? That would certainly save me several extra steps just to give the supplement.

I think @azygous missed your question and so may want to elaborate more, but the short answer is "Yes." Chickens are easily able to swallow those big calcium citrate pills whole. Just make sure you insert the tablet into their beak Over their tongue; they will then immediately swallow it with no problem. (Been there done that.)

 

[Cryss]

I think @azygous missed your question and so may want to elaborate more, but the short answer is "Yes." Chickens are easily able to swallow those big calcium citrate pills whole. Just make sure you insert the tablet into their beak Over their tongue; they will then immediately swallow it with no problem. (Been there done that.)

Thank you!

 

[azygous]

This is why I have loyal helpers. Thank you Laura. (@Allsfairinloveandbugs )

 

[628990]

I have a seven-year old Easter Egger named Wheezie. She's always been one of my favorites because she's very smart and lovable and knows her name and she demands cuddles no matter what else is happening. When she began laying in February after fall break, her eggs all were coming out without a shell. She's been courting disaster with these shell-less eggs, and a few times, she was eggbound and it was touch and go.

I've been giving her calcium citrate every day since February trying to build up her reserves, hoping to see a normal egg from her, but settling for not having a soft egg break inside her. All of her eggs were either smashed wet spots in the nest or a puddled mess on the poop board come morning. This is what she has been getting every single day. View attachment 3079595Last night at roosting time, Wheezie was in egg crisis mode, I gave her an extra calcium, and put her on the perch. Early this morning sometime, she made it to the nest, and I found this.View attachment 3079594It's thin and dented but, by golly, it's a shell!!

Now, I have reason to hope that her shells might keep on getting better, heading for a normal egg one day soon.

I'm posting this thread to urge you all to get a bottle of calcium citrate and keep it in your run so it's handy to give to a hen that is having egg issues. The stuff really works. Just pop a tablet into the beak each day until you see normal eggs.

I saw your post, and was curious how you just put a calcium citrate pill in your hen’s beak?

Aren’t the pills large?

I am curious, since I have hen who has been having some egg quality issues, and I got a bottle of the calcium citrate today.

 

[azygous]

Here's my tutorial on why chickens have an easier time swallowing a bulky pill than humans do.

We think chickens must have a problem swallowing a large pill just because we do. But their digestive process is different from ours. We begin the digestive process by chewing first, then swallowing. We aren't meant to swallow large chunks. We naturally choke.

Chickens don't have teeth for a good reason. They don't need them. Their digestive process begins after they swallow. The food goes directly into their crop without passing "Go", and then it trickles down into their gizzard where the "chewing" action goes into full swing.

Therefore, chickens can amaze us by swallowing things that we think would choke them, large pills included. But they actually have no problem. Slip the pill into the beak and you'll see it disappear like magic. Unless you don't get it far enough back on the tongue. Chickens can rival dogs and cats at firing a pill across the room like a guided missile, but it's not because they aren't able to swallow it easily.

 

[628990]

Here's my tutorial on why chickens have an easier time swallowing a bulky pill than humans do.

We think chickens must have a problem swallowing a large pill just because we do. But their digestive process is different from ours. We begin the digestive process by chewing first, then swallowing. We aren't meant to swallow large chunks. We naturally choke.

Chickens don't have teeth for a good reason. They don't need them. Their digestive process begins after they swallow. The food goes directly into their crop without passing "Go", and then it trickles down into their gizzard where the "chewing" action goes into full swing.

Therefore, chickens can amaze us by swallowing things that we think would choke them, large pills included. But they actually have no problem. Slip the pill into the beak and you'll see it disappear like magic. Unless you don't get it far enough back on the tongue. Chickens can rival dogs and cats at firing a pill across the room like a guided missile, but it's not because they aren't able to swallow it easily.

Thanks for the info!