⠀ Thin Shelled Eggs

[leeber59]

Hi to all
We have 3 chickens that we inherited. Have had them approx eighteen months now. Not sure what breed they are. I have done some research and apparently they are a hybrid chicken breed especially for laying. They are brown and fawn coloured
I am in Australia so we are now in our winter season. Several weeks ago they went through a period of malting and getting bald patches. I did a bit of research which said that they were protein deficient so to introduce protein, which we did via tuna cat food ( was told this was ok). And to remove any other scraps we were feeding them.
Diet
Tunas cat food
Shell Grit
Organic laying mash
Cracked corn mixed with sunflower seeds (Treat)
Their feathers have grown back and they look healthy. We are getting one egg each day and 2 every other day which apparently is quite normal during the colder months. The problem is on the day we get 2 the 2nd one is always getting broken and the shells still aren't as thick as they used to be.
Sorry for the dragged out post. We dont know what we are doing wrong and would appreciate any input that would help us
Cheers
Lee

 

[peterlund]

Oyster shell. Calcium deficient.
At all feed stores. Leave a small bowl out. They will take what they need when they need it.
Welcome to the BYC btw.

 

[ChickNanny13]

Being that it's winter in Australia right now, it's ok to feed cracked corn as a "treat" but not really needed. BOSS (black oiled sunflower seeds) a plus but if you're feeding good quality layer, I'd stop the tuna. Put our some Oyster Shells in another dish to help with the thin shells.

IF you can get a higher protein layer, go with that. I don't like feeding too many "supplements", it may throw off the balance on the nutritional value in the feed. I feed mine Flock Raiser (20%) with Oyster Shells on the side when they start laying, never had a problem with thin shells.

Used to feed layer, started off with Chick Starter then layer when they were 18wks. Being that I have 4 - 6 chickens, I'd end up with so much left over CS. Then read about Flock Raiser, so now I buy a small bag of CS feeding the chicks for at least a month. Then switch to Flock Raiser and adding the container of Oyster Shells when they start laying. Working great!