thin egg shells

[terri9630]

My girls have a 40lb feeder with the layer pellets, a smaller feeder with the oyster shells and only get scratch if I have to catch someone. They do get ocassional left overs but only in the late evening when we let the horses out.

 

[Willow's Meadow]

Oh and have a bowl of oyster shells available!

 

[LeezyBeezy]

We had our first thin shelled egg today, that broke in the nest when my hubby picked it up. I have grower feed because we thought we were getting 8 wk. olds... but got 2 one yr. olds instead. I know I have to get some oyster shell for them. I was hoping to "get by" by using up the grower feed.

Ah, lesson learned!

 

[terri9630]

Quote:
I'd finish the grower feed and put some oyster shells out with it. No use wasting the feed. It's to expensive for that!

 

[LeezyBeezy]

Good to know- I'm off to the Agway tomorrow!

 

[Wing & A Prayer Farm]

We usually mix oyster shell in with their scratch & throw it in the run together & the eggs we've gotten have had good hard shells & it seems like they prefer it since while their pecking at the scratch they also get the oyster shell. Works for them so works for us..

 

[Mrs. K]

I think age has something to do with egg shell thickness too. I have gotten new chicks each year for the last three years, and all are fed the same diet at this point, they are all laying and my younger girl's eggs are much thicker than the older girls.

The original poster said that she got these girls in 2008, so they would be coming 4 year old hens. That is some age for a hen.

MrsK

 

[mstricer]

This is a very old thread how does one find these. The original one was from 2007. Just wondering?

 

[rsandberg09]

Limit the amount of treats they get. Put the oyster shells in a dish and if all else fails, take a few pictures of prepared chicken recipes and show it to the girls. That should get them motivated.

 

[The Bird House]

Our girls just started laying about 1-1/2 weeks ago. Our Dominique started first with a smaller egg and very good thick shell. She laid her 4th egg tonight around 7:00 ish. right before roosting with a thin shelled egg. They get yogurt every day, but no oyster shell yet. They free range for between 2-3 hours a day.

Start them on oyster shells too?

Also, can the thin shell egg be eaten?

Thanks!