Thin eggshells

[bock]

This morning I was having some fried eggs, and when I cracked one of the large brown eggs the shell was so thin, the yolk almost fell into the burner. I know I could always buy some oyster shell, they eat Layena, but I have heard about people feeding them their eggshells back or something. Does anyone do this with their hens, and what do you do? Thanks!

 

[Judy]

I offer oyster shell. It costs like $6 and it takes them over a year to go through a bag. Some birds need more calcium than others; evidently, the calcium in layer is enough for some, not for others. It is debatable whether feeding them the cracked shells actually increases their calcium level. If you do this, be sure they are very finely shattered, to give them a better chance at digesting them.

 

[CMV]

The shells get thinner and paler as the hens age. I had oyster shells available to my hens forever and they never touched them, so I stopped offering them. I had the (large) bag taking up space in my garage since then. Suddenly, this year one of my older hens developed a bad calcium deficiency that resulted in her laying some very, odd thin-shelled eggs. A couple months of oyster shells and her eggs are back to normal. She also apparently started a fad for oyster shells with all the other hens- the huge bag of shells that have been living in my garage are nearly gone!

 

[bock]

Sounds good, I will go get a bag of oyster shell soon! Thank you.

 

[Judy]

I've never even seen a really large bag of them; I'm picturing a bag of feed. My $6 or so bag is maybe 2 or 3 quarts, and yes that's the one that lasted well over a year. It's so old I'm sure the price has gone up!