Thin shells on two girls, what can i do?

[Naolove]

I have 14 layinghems, mixed breeds : golden laced wyandotte, Russian orloff, jersey giant, well summer and true blues. My two true blues have thin shells compared to anyone else and their two daughters, orloff roo, have thinner shells as well. Not as thin as the pure bred mommas but thinner than the others. All get oyster shell freely and crushed egg shells as well.... what else can I do? The two mommas are about two years old and the daughters just started laying in dec. They are thin enough that just setting them gently in an egg basket breaks them or if another hen lays in the Same box they will break. Any ideas?

 

[chickentrains]

Did they just have a break from laying? sometimes they need a bit to get back into the groove.

you said they have oyster shell and eggshells, but do you see them eating them?

 

[Naolove]

Did they just have a break from laying? sometimes they need a bit to get back into the groove.

you said they have oyster shell and eggshells, but do you see them eating them?

Nope those two are very consistent monday thru Friday layers lol for some reason they do not lay on the weekends . I do see them eating it. They are at the bowl of it just as much as everyone else... I'm so confused by it. they are on 18% layer feed, no scratch. No parasites that I've been able to find... should I deworm them? Just in case?

 

[chickentrains]

Nope those two are very consistent monday thru Friday layers lol for some reason they do not lay on the weekends . I do see them eating it. They are at the bowl of it just as much as everyone else... I'm so confused by it. they are on 18% layer feed, no scratch. No parasites that I've been able to find... should I deworm them? Just in case?

Couldn't hurt.

I'm really not sure, somebody is likely to chime in

 

[Naolove]

Haha thank you! I've never had this issue before lol I feel lost with these two girls

Couldn't hurt.

I'm really not sure, somebody is likely to chime in

 

[rosemarythyme]

Since you know exactly which bird(s) are the problem, isolate them for a private breakfast. 2-3x a week serve a small bowl (like 1 Tbsp per bird is fine) of wet or fermented feed with oyster shell mixed in. If they don't like chunks of oyster shell, crush it up or use the powdery remnants from bottom of the bag. Should only take a few minutes to eat and after that they're free to go.

Assuming the issue is simply insufficient calcium intake, you should see results in a week or two, and you can try reducing it to 1-2x a week and should hopefully continue getting good results.

 

[bgmathteach]

I have 14 layinghems, mixed breeds : golden laced wyandotte, Russian orloff, jersey giant, well summer and true blues. My two true blues have thin shells compared to anyone else and their two daughters, orloff roo, have thinner shells as well. Not as thin as the pure bred mommas but thinner than the others. All get oyster shell freely and crushed egg shells as well.... what else can I do? The two mommas are about two years old and the daughters just started laying in dec. They are thin enough that just setting them gently in an egg basket breaks them or if another hen lays in the Same box they will break. Any ideas?

Thin shells can be genetic. I wouldn't breed/hatch any from these girls. As far as fixing the problem, sounds like you are doing all you can. Maybe an egg-spert on here has additional ideas?

 

[Folly's place]

Use oyster shell only, in case it's about the egg shells being preferred by these birds.
Is the oyster shell feeder convenient for them? I had to move mine close to the run door to get one of my birds to eat any of it, rather than having it in a back corner.
And I agree, thin shells can be a genetic story, not good to reproduce.
Mary