Thin thin thin shells.

[suderm]

Very good to hear. Thanks for reporting back. Please continue to update us.
Feeding kitchen scraps to chickens is a valuable use of something that would normally go to waste.
It is necessary to use judgment though. Too many scraps for too few chickens can cause problems.
But if chickens are provided a nutritionally complete chicken feed, there is no reason to treat for treat's sake. As you've discovered, that can cause problems too.

Only veggie scraps! I think i might have been overdoing it. I am such a natural eater myself that I assumed chickens getting veggies and greens would be natural compared to some factory created feed.

 

[libbie]

It sounds so simple but it really does work for me. TUMS adds a shot of calcium to their system. Just from my experiences with my chickens when I have a hen that sits and sits and seems to be having difficulties. I’ll give some TUMS and they’ll lay (usually my young first timers). IMHO it helps.

How do you get them to eat the Tums?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

How do you get them to eat the Tums?

Crush the Tums up and sprinkle it over a treat like scrambled egg.
Do you have a pullet or hen that is having problems with thin shelled eggs? It's always a good idea to look at feed, housing/space, other illnesses, worms, lice/mites, etc. as possible causes of shell quality problems too.

 

[MissChick@dee]

How do you get them to eat the Tums?

I use a grape. Cut into quarters. I stuff a chunk of broken tums into one quarter. I give regular grape first...then the grape with tums. You need to be quick about it because the juice from the grape will start to dissolve it.

 

[libbie]

Crush the Tums up and sprinkle it over a treat like scrambled egg.
Do you have a pullet or hen that is having problems with thin shelled eggs? It's always a good idea to look at feed, housing/space, other illnesses, worms, lice/mites, etc. as possible causes of shell quality problems too.

I have a one year old Cream Legbar who has always laid really thin shells that break open. I’ve isolated her and gave her a “special” diet, but I wasn’t able to get her to eat Tums. I’ve looked her over and no signs of mites or lice and had a fecal test done by my dogs vet. They get layer feed and have free access to oyster shells although they’ve recently switched to grower feed because there are young ones in the flock right now. She’s the only hen with his problem.

 

[ChickenCanoe]

I have a one year old Cream Legbar who has always laid really thin shells that break open. I’ve isolated her and gave her a “special” diet, but I wasn’t able to get her to eat Tums. I’ve looked her over and no signs of mites or lice and had a fecal test done by my dogs vet. They get layer feed and have free access to oyster shells although they’ve recently switched to grower feed because there are young ones in the flock right now. She’s the only hen with his problem.

Extra calcium isn't always a fix because a shortage of calcium may not be the problem. A proper ratio of calcium to phosphorus to D3 is essential but there are many other factors causing poor shell quality.
https://thepoultrysite.com/articles/factors-influencing-shell-quality

 

[ChickenCanoe]

Only veggie scraps! I think i might have been overdoing it. I am such a natural eater myself that I assumed chickens getting veggies and greens would be natural compared to some factory created feed.

It is natural for humans to eat a lot of green leafy vegetables but not so much for chickens. That factory created feed is formulated with the proper ratio of the 40+ nutrients chickens are known to need based on well over 100 years of research.
While chickens do eat vegetation, in nature, it doesn't make up a significant part of a chicken's diet. If you watch them free range, rather than browsing on greens they are spending most of their time scratching for bugs, seeds and stones. If one replaces enough of the balanced feed with enough vegetables, they could be dramatically changing that balance. Now if you ate a lot of types of bugs and the occasional mouse or frog then fed that to them along with a few small sharp stones, it would be more natural.
https://extension2.missouri.edu/g8352#two

 

[MissChick@dee]

I only give tums when it appears that a hen is struggling/possibly egg bound. Not as a daily supplement. Usually when they are just coming into lay.
My LH during this years molt stopped laying completely. When she started up again her shells were thin and pink! That’s right a LH that lay’d Pink thin shelled eggs. I thought oh no...blood in her egg shell gland? Perhaps as a prolific layer we were on a slippery slope of reproductive problems.
Then I started really watching and found out they were getting into the cat kibble. You know the kind that has every artificial red coloring dye known to man in it. (I use it in traps)
So....3 months later her eggs are still not as white as they were when she was younger but they’re better and her shells are hard again. Definitely not the same in size of egg.
I wonder if that was the problem. Too much protein and food dye? The other girls are younger and I wouldn’t of noticed a color change since they lay pink or brown eggs anyway.
I wish there was a definitive answer. Some chickens just have issues where others do not. We get attached cause they are just so fun and amazing. We all know what it’s like to worry and feel a bit helpless
With my brats (sneaky booger’s) I honestly believe they kept a lookout for me and would eat the kibble like candy.
So if you can spend sometime watching your “softy” layer she might be into something that disagrees with her system.
I offer yogurt (low-fat vanilla Greek yogurt) mine absolutely love it. But...I have one that has difficulty with the lactose in it. So...it’s always going to be something with chickens. I hope you figure out what is going on with your girl.