thin shells

[mxpres]

I have 18 cold comets that are great layers,but one of the hens lays an egg with the shell so thin I can't pick it up without it breaking.the last month she has started eating the egg,I have tried oyster shell,cut out the treats,everything I could think of but nothing works,I don,t understand whats going on with this bird.all the others lay beutiful brown eggs with very hard shells and they all have the same diet.the egg even looks different,about 1/3 of the shell is light brown.then a dark brown circle around the middle of the egg like a band,then the other 1/3 is light brown,she has had oyster shell for months but its time to cull,this bird has been laying eggs like this since she started laying and she is over a year old,has anyone else had this problem and if so,what did you do to try to correct it?any information would be greatly appreciated,I am beginning to think it may be genetics?

 

[Imp]

Here's some info. Good luck

Imp

http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publi...ndbook/16/thinshelled-eggs-and-shellless-eggs

 

[blackbeauty]

I had one of those once. I would just keep oon doing what you are doing. Provide them with plenty of grit and shells. If she is starting to eat them I heard somewhere that you should buy a wooden egg ( I dont know where to get them otherwise just blow one) and then cut it in half and put like mustard. Your comet should be wiping her beak for a while!! The mustard is pretty spicy to them!

good luck!!

 

[OrpingtonManor]

the link Imp posted is really good! It mentioned one thing that I found to make the difference in my one girl who laid soft-shelled eggs - Vitamin D3. I added vitamins & electrolytes to the water, and her eggs started to firm up. They're not quite as hard as the others, but at least, now I can collect and use them instead of finding them crushed in the nest box.

 

[Hypnotist_Collectr]

I always save all my egg shells and toss them on a cookie sheet in my oven. When the sheet is full, I toss them in the blender, and then I put the dust in a little bird feeder (sort of like a little half cup you put on the inside of domestic/house bird cages... got mine at Petco for $1). They freely eat it as they want, and their shells firmed right up for us.
At times, I notice they get little white spots on them (they lay brown eggs), so I just back it off for a bit, and they go back to normal. (I guess it is a sign of too much calcium.)