Very thin shells & other issues...

[slidnonice]

Hello,
I've got a couple concerns.
A.) I have a flock of 20 Red Stars that were hatched Sept.10 and started laying the first week of January. For a while there, all 20 were laying every day and I still consistently get huge, goose-sized double yolks from 2 of them. It's steadied to about 17 to 20 a day. In the past couple of weeks, I've been noticing one or two eggs that have been expelled while they're roosted at night. These eggs have shells like paper. I've been feeding a commercial lay crumble and know I probably need to get some oyster shell for them but is there a reason for these shells? They get kitchen scraps, as well, and I'm wondering if I've inadvertently given them something that is known (although not by me) to produce weak shells. Any thoughts?

B.) One hen (almost) never lays her egg in one of the nests. I find them all over; in the run, on the floor of the coop, out where they free range, etc. Her egg is always...weird. Normal inside and looks normal when she lays it (I've watched her) but when the bloom dries, it makes a whitish discoloration that can't be washed off. All my eggs get washed before I sell them and hers look normal when wet but always when they dry, they have this rough texture and they look like they've been bleached.

I've just thought of something, I put small amounts of bleach in their 5 gallon waterer; did I maybe put too much in these past few weeks?

Any help is much appreciated!

Shari Malcomb
Sherwood, TX

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I would say the thin shells are probably bc they aren't getting enough calcium from the layer feed. Some hens need more than others. Either provide them with a dish of oyster shell or save the eggshells from eggs you eat for breakfast and feed them back to them. If they haven't been laying all that long, they could just be working out some kinks still. This would also explain eggs dropped from the roost and random places in the yard. Some new layers just can't tell when they're coming and then it just hits them, BAM. Out pops the egg. One of my standard Cochins had this problem. She would drop her egg while she was foraging. Then she caught on a little and would take off for the coop but it would come out before she got there. Eventually she started making it to the nest boxes though.
The extra white stuff on the egg is the bloom. Some girls lay it on thick! It protects the egg from bacteria entering into the shell thru the pores. Its actually better if you don't wash the eggs before selling them, as they'll have a longer shelf life if the bloom is left intact. I don't wash mine unless they've got dirt on them (poo or a streak of mud from dirty feet), and even then, I don't wash them until just before I use them. To each his/her own though. Good luck!

 

[slidnonice]

Thanks for the reply! The only reason I wash them is the belief that if I wash some of the ones I'm selling and not others, that can spell problems with bacteria and that's a headache (or customer's stomachache) that I don't want. I use a product made by MannaPro called All Natural Egg Wash and it does a great job and the only downside (small) is that the eggs will now HAVE to be refrigerated.
These girls have been laying about 4 months, isn't that enough time to have the kinks out? I don't remember previous flocks still having issues this late in the game. Of course, the key phrase is "I don't remember" so it could have happened and it just never registered. What about the bleach in their waterer? Should I continue putting it in? I hate the algae that accumulates if the water is plain, but if that's how it has to be, so be it.
Thanks again for any advice,

Shari Malcomb
Sherwood, TX

 

[howfunkyisurchicken]

I don't consider 4 months long enough to work out the kinks. It all sounds pretty normal to me, honestly. They're still youngins
Sorry, forgot ALL about the bleach! I'd nix it! Bleach isn't that great for birds, even if you're just cleaning the coop you should rinse it really well. I've read that commercial egg farms use bleach and peroxide to keep their watering systems clean, but I personally don't agree that its very good for the chickens. If the algae bothers you (it does me, yuck) a natural alternative is unpasteurized apple cider vinegar. The kind with the mother, or sediment floating around in it. It keeps the algae at bay and provides the chickens with probios at the same time. Add 1 tsp per gallon. I use the Up-ACV because of the health benefits, but any vinegar will do

 

[slidnonice]

That's good, I actually have some of the 'real' apple vinegar in my fridge. I'd completely forgotten reading somewhere that it was good to put into their water. So, I bought some oyster shell yesterday, it was called 'pullet sized' but it's like little pebbles, not like the flat flaky oyster shell I was expecting. We just moved here from Nevada (well, last July) and I'm still getting used to the differences in feed/supplies.

Shari

 

[Mtn Laurel]

Agree with the ACV but a reminder that you must use a plastic waterer when you're using ACV as it will react with a metal waterer.

 

[Jen01971]

Did anyone ever try kelp? I have a hen that lays thin shelled eggs and I provide a dish of calcium but it's not helping.