Trying Cod Liver Oil For Soft Shelled Eggs?

marlaw

Songster
Apr 24, 2019
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My Little Betty (1 Year Old Serama Bantam) has been laying soft shelled eggs all summer long. She laid normal eggs prior to that. About a month ago I did manage to get a normal egg out of her, but I can't pinpoint what she or I may have done differently. I've been working overtime trying to help her boost calcium intake, but nothing seems to be working. I read in Story's book that she may have a Vitamin D deficiency which makes it difficult to absorb calcium. This makes sense because another symptom of Vitamin D deficiency is that they sit and rest a lot--and she does! She actually has her own special bed she likes to take naps in every day about 3:00! LOL! She acts just fine 99% of the time and she is very energetic until its time to lay--then you can tell she is in a lot of pain. The other hens have taken notice and will peck around her vent when she's trying to lay, which is horrible and I'm not always there to isolate her so she can lay in peace.

My question is, does anyone know the correct dosage to use Fish Oil Supplement for a bantam? I've read that there can be some toxicity so I want to be sure.
Also, is the strawberry flavored kind just as safe? She loves strawberries so I thought she might be more inclined to eat it.

If anybody might have any other suggestions, here's stuff I've tried:
  • She has foraged all summer long in the run and has had lots of grass (or cut up greens from us), crickets, and worms.
  • She used to get "The Honest Worm Premium Yellow Meal Worms" as a treat but now the main treat is freeze dried grubs. (Her problems started when we switched from worms to grubs, but surely this is a coincidence? The organic meal worms were so much more expensive but if someone smarter than me thinks it could be the problem I will buy them again in a heart beat.)
  • I make all the girls a plain yogurt "parfait" with their feed about twice a week.
  • I change their water every second day and use ACV in it 90% of the time.
  • Their main feed is Purina Layena Crumbles with Calcium.
  • Chick grit is always available to them.
  • We bought oyster shell but the pieces were too big. Ground them with mortar and pestle and realized that wasn't going to work long term. Then we tried Parakeet grit, the kind with Anise in it. All the other girls LOVED it but Betty didn't seem interested.
  • I washed and baked their eggs shells, crumbled them up, and it is always available as well. She doesn't care about it but the others do. (All the other girls eggs are in great shape these days though, lol)
  • They get lots of fruit and veggies depending on the season. They love angel hair cabbage, parsley, cilantro, apples, strawberries, tomatoes and watermelons.
  • I read that them being startled at night or getting their day/night cycles askew could cause it, but I keep them on a tight schedule and their coop is very safe. I really don't think its that.
That's all I can think of! You know I love all my babies but Betty is MY GIRL and I already told her she has to live forever so I'm doing my best to make that happen. lol
 

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Oh I forgot to add something that might be important--
We medicated the whole flock with Corid for 5 full days after we had a Coccidiosis scare. None of them had ever been medicated before. It was on the 5th or 6th day that Betty laid her normal egg before they were soft shelled again. Should I have kept her on Corid longer?
 
Could she be going into a molt? How old is she? I had one do this for the whole summer 2019 and then molted that September, she was still molting in November. Another guy took over that flock last fall and now after she molted she is laying healthy eggs again. She is a barnyard EE ands was the bottom of the pecking order..
 
Could she be going into a molt? How old is she? I had one do this for the whole summer 2019 and then molted that September, she was still molting in November. Another guy took over that flock last fall and now after she molted she is laying healthy eggs again. She is a barnyard EE ands was the bottom of the pecking order..
She might be. I know several of them are right now--feathers are everywhere! That might be an avenue to investigate---thank you!
 

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