Thin and fragile egg shells

[honeydoll]

My hens have been laying eggs for a little while now. I was using Dumor layer feed at first and their eggshells were very hard. We had an egg toss once with them and the eggs would hit the ground and not break! ANyway, now their egg shells are very fragile, they crack so easy and are very thin. I have added oyster shell, quite a bit I think, two handfuls each day on to[ their food. They get calcium spots on their eggs but the shells are still fragile. I switched to layena awhile ago because I heard such good about it, this seems to be when my problem started. I went back to Dumor but I still have thin eggshells. The thinness could be coincidence it started when I switched food. But I cannot seem to get back the nice strong eggshells they once had. ANy tips. The eggshells are so fragile I cannot hardly wipe poop off without them breaking in my hand. How much oyster shell should be added? I have tried a separate dish of oyster shell too and that hasn't made a difference either. They have been recently wormed, about two months ago. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[DaughterOfEve]

I am no expert. I have a breed that lays thin shells or even no shells. I have improved her eggs with dark green leafies like spinach and extra protein like scrambled eggs or tuna every few days. Some folks use cat food for extra protein.

 

[teach1rusl]

Switching feeds MAY have triggered it. If they didn't take well to the switch, maybe they were eating less of it??? Anyhow, I offer the oyster shell free choice, in a separate dish. You can also totally stop treats and scraps for a week or so to see if that helps. When I had those issues early on, I laid off any extras, except I would give them some yogurt with crushed egg shells mixed in. It worked for me, and it's worth a shot.

 

[honeydoll]

I thought of stopping treats as well. Maybe I'll try that. Maybe they are not eating enough of the layer feed and oyster shell due to too many other choices. Good advice, Thanks.
Oh these crazy girls, they can drive you crazy but you love them too much to get rid of them.

 

[chickencrazymom]

I'm having the same problem , but it's only one hen out of nine that is doing it , and it just started recently with no change to anything. I can't figure out which one it is either !!!

 

[cybercat]

Quote:
It does not sound food related per se in that switching caused it. I would start adding some greens with the oyster shell. There is something going on in that they have depleted there calcium so fast. I would upgrade feed to something better with 20% protien. Dumor is very low grade and laneya while OK for light breeds not so great for heavy breeds. It could be a freshness thing also, the place you buying from not selling it enough. I would look at other manufactures go to their sites do a dealer search on their site. You might find one the is better maybe not closer but better. Some names to look into Southern States, Kent. Try locl yellow pages for a feed mill in your area. They will be the freshest and you can make your own formula from grains to supplement.