Well ok then...

[Steamdemon]

Err, really can't tell if Sybil laid this egg, or Letty laid this egg... Sybil's eggs usually turn out to be double yolkers, whilst Tosca lays single yolk eggs...and she's already laid this morning. If it's a double yolker, Sybil must have had a night fright...if it's Letty, that explains the fact it could be her first egg...So what do you think? :/

 

[azygous]

Is this a test?

 

[Steamdemon]

Nah, it's not a test. I'm curious as to why this egg is wrinkly. Also, found a broken thin shelled egg in the poo tray, so, regardless of the weather, I had to clean the roosting area and poo trays out, to prevent the chance of one of our three hens developing a taste for egg.

 

[azygous]

Wrinkly eggs happen naturally from time to time. It's merely a variation in the way calcium is deposited while the egg passes through the shell glad. I've had some real strange looking eggs, but then they quickly revert to normal in appearance.

Same with thin-shelled eggs, but if they persist, it means that hen may need some calcium therapy.

 

[Merrykh]

I hope someone can help me, too. Forgive me if I'm posting wrongly. My hen has always been a good layer. She is free range in my urban back yard for the last 3 years. She is so picky. I had her on Layena from the feed store and then later found a recipe for a mix that was supposed to be so good for her. I spent so much on all the ingredients only to have her pick here and there and walk away, never to return to it. Waste. I've also tried pellets as well as the crumble. I just put the Layena back by itself and I hardly ever see her eat out of it. I do give her scrambled egg occasionally and I always mix in finely crushed eggshells in it. I have a dish of oyster shell available. What the deal is, is her eggs have been getting softer and softer until they are like a water balloon. I'm afraid she'll get egg bound soon. I can't figure out how to get the calcium she needs into that stubborn body. I was hoping that all the natural stuff she gets from the yard would be beneficial. And when I say picky, she won't eat any foods I offer from the produce I have. No strawberries, grapes, lettuce, squash, carrots, peas, corn, sunflower seeds, you name it, she won't eat it. She does peck through the seed waste that falls out of my finch aviary and cockatiel aviary. Otherwise, she seems to be perky. Oh, and when I give my dogs their wet food, THEN she comes running. So, I could hide something in the dog food if anyone can help with what to do about increasingly soft shells.

 

[RonP]

Is this a test?

Wrinkly eggs happen naturally from time to time. It's merely a variation in the way calcium is deposited while the egg passes through the shell glad. I've had some real strange looking eggs, but then they quickly revert to normal in appearance.

Same with thin-shelled eggs, but if they persist, it means that hen may need some calcium therapy.

I give you an A+

 

[azygous]

This is a response to Merry's post. You have a picky eater. It happens in Chicken World just as it happens with human brats. Giving in to her taste for treats doesn't help, and letting her have access to the dog's food is depriving her of the balanced chicken diet she needs.

I've found many laying hens prefer higher protein grower or all-flock feed over the taste of layer feed. And when I began adding to my flock every year or so, feeding an all flock feed is just easier. It has everything in it layers need except for additional calcium which they usually get from oyster shell provided on the side.

As far as her apparent calcium deficiency, I recently learned of a very simply calcium therapy from Two Crows. And it works in just a few days. Get some generic Caltrate from the pharmacy section of the grocery store. Cut the tablet into quarters, and feed two quarters a day to your hen. I disguise it in a bit of peanut butter and they gobble it down. Keep it up until her eggs are appearing with a normal shell and maybe some calcium deposits on the shell. Then stop the therapy since you don't want to overload her organs with too much.

The Caltrate has additional minerals and vitamins that make the calcium easily absorbed whereas not all hens assimilate adequate calcium from oyster shell.

So, start her on an all flock feed. I would even highly recommend you ferment it. It helps your hen absorb many more nutrients and probiotics than in the dry form. And curtail the extra treats and dog food, and do the Caltrate until her eggs are normal.