Thin shelled eggs

[richardeblack]

Hello All
Sorry to be raising another thin shell post but none of the other posts quite fit my situation.
I have 4 hens, 3 brown and one white. They are all escapees from the large free range hen breeding unit behind my property (they are massive barns rearing from very young chicks to point of lay when they are taken out to commercial free range farms) so are not intended for long lay life, about 1 year cycle of hens.
My brown ones are about 3 or 4 years old with the two oldest now laying very rarely and the 2 to 3yr old laying more regularly. The problem is that all their eggs are thin shelled and rarely make it out of the nest box. The younger white one lays every day and the eggs are strong and delicious.
They are free ranging during the day and I always have layer pellets (which have calcium added) available for them which they all eat. I have oyster shell and crushed eggshells always available. I don't really know who is laying what so don't really want to dose up a hen who isn't laying with calcium supplement.
I haven't ever wormed my hens so don't know if that causes problems? One of them has ascites which I drain periodically to keep her comfortable. All are lively and appear in good health generally.
Might it just be age (I know they aren't old but well beyond their "design" life)?
Thank you for taking time to read this.
Richard.

 

[coach723]

Age could be a contributor. Sometimes shell glands malfunction. Having said that, the only way to know if it's simply calcium deficiency, is to supplement it. It could be calcium and either they are not absorbing it as well as they used to, or something in the diet may be affecting absorption (some greens are high in oxalate and interfere with calcium absorption). You could try crating one bird at a time, in the run with the others, til she lays. See what her egg looks like. Then you can treat that one with calcium to see if it helps. And just work through them that way. If they look too much alike to be sure (once they are out of the crate), you can use colored zip ties to band their legs so you know who is who. I band like that when ever I have a question about a particular bird having something going on, so I can easily recognize them, some of my birds are pretty hard to tell apart.

 

[Bawkbok]

(some greens are high in oxalate and interfere with calcium absorption).

This is good to know. Which greens, specifically? Kale? Spinach? Romaine or other lettuces?
I've been making cool salads during the heat wave and now I'm wondering if this is causing the soft shelled eggs I'm starting to see. I'm eliminating salad for a while. Too much of anything is not a good thing, right?
Thanks for your insight.

 

[coach723]

Spinach, swiss chard, kale, collard greens, beet greens, mustard greens, amaranth greens. Some root vegetables can be (especially with skin) and there are some others, less commonly given to chickens. Getting it occasionally is usually ok, but doing it consistently can sometimes cause problems. And some birds may be more sensitive to it, just like people. Lettuce shouldn't be an issue.

 

[Bawkbok]

Spinach, swiss chard, kale, collard greens, beet greens, mustard greens, amaranth greens. Some root vegetables can be (especially with skin) and there are some others, less commonly given to chickens. Getting it occasionally is usually ok, but doing it consistently can sometimes cause problems. And some birds may be more sensitive to it, just like people. Lettuce shouldn't be an issue.

Thank you so much for this information. It helps me tremendously and I'm sure will help others as well.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I've been getting thin shelled eggs the last couple of days and we don't give greens, or any kitchen scraps for that matter. Yesterday it was a blue egg, today a brown. Eggs looked perfect but when I picked them up, the pressure of my thumb caused the shell to collapse inward. Our heat wave has finally broken so I don't think it's the heat . . . These girls are no more than 2 years old and may only be just over a year.

 

[Bawkbok]

I've been getting thin shelled eggs the last couple of days and we don't give greens, or any kitchen scraps for that matter. Yesterday it was a blue egg, today a brown. Eggs looked perfect but when I picked them up, the pressure of my thumb caused the shell to collapse inward. Our heat wave has finally broken so I don't think it's the heat . . . These girls are no more than 2 years old and may only be just over a year.

Our thin shells have been from the production breed so I thought perhaps she hit another glitch for a few days. The shells are getting stronger but as you described, I can punch my finger through it. The color is not as dark as it should be either. She eats a ton of OS on a regular basis.
Our Orpingtons were consistent daily layers until this week also. Now they are all taking consecutive days off so I don't know what to think.

Humidity levels have increased for us and days have been overcast so a lot less sun, if any, due to overnight rain and low cloud cover all day. Not sure if weather plays a part. I know shorter days do but heck, we're not really there yet.

They actually get more free yard time now than they did when temps were over 100. Chickens confuse me.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I'm seeing feathers everywhere so I'm assuming molt is imminent. Also productiin is WAY down.

 

[Sally PB]

I've read, but not tried this, to see who is laying what:

Smear some food coloring in/around a hen's vent. Different colors for different birds. The food coloring will transfer to the eggshell, at least for a few days, before it wears off.

Stay away from red; you don't want to give the other birds something red to peck at. Green, blue, and purple seem like they'd be obvious enough on an eggshell.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I've read, but not tried this, to see who is laying what:

Smear some food coloring in/around a hen's vent. Different colors for different birds. The food coloring will transfer to the eggshell, at least for a few days, before it wears off.

Stay away from red; you don't want to give the other birds something red to peck at. Green, blue, and purple seem like they'd be obvious enough on an eggshell.

I assume we need to use the gel type food coloring, yes?