Egg Laying Problem No Shell

C

cobaltblue

New member
Joined
Apr 16, 2015
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Hi We have an egg laying problem. Our Rhode Island Red Bantum is laying a yolk but no shell on it although there is a white tube like thing next to it ,which having read the forum on chicken reproduction, I think would normally be the shell. What appears to be the problem and what can I do about it?
We feed them layers pellets and the other four bantum hens are producing eggs as normal.
Kind regards
Peter
 
Hi Peter, welcome to the Forum.
You didn't say how old your bantam is - if they're just coming into lay for the first time, such abnormalities are fairly common until their systems settle down to regular laying. Also common in older birds who have perhaps nearly used up all their egg cells and are going through the ' henopause,'
If they are having layers pellets I expect they're getting plenty of calcium. There are other possibilities for poor she'll quality, maybe as a result if some viral infections in early life. Could you tell us a bit more about her history, perhaps?
 
We got her over a year ago when our previous 5 bantums were killed by a fox when we were on holiday in Canada, I blame the hunting ban as our two golden retrievers usually keep the fox away but they were being looked after by my partners daughter so the fox found the chickens after 4 days of no dogs. So she is about 18 months old and was laying no problem last year but she stopped during the winter months and started laying again but about 2 weeks ago she started laying yolks but no shell.
 
I
Does she appear to be fine in other respects, eating, drinking and pooing normally, and bright and active in herself?
And have they been wormed with Flubenvet in the past 4 or 5 months? A worm burden can pull a hen down and affect productivity, and 'herbal tonics' don't actually kill worm eggs.
 
Pavlova is active ,eating normally and is bright and comes when called to additional food which my partner puts out for them, she is an ex-catering manager which accounts for 4 of our 5 hens being called after egg dishes, merange, florentine and benedict being the other ones. Milly is the other one as she is named after her breed.
 
I don't think cider vinegar would have any effect on worms. Just out of interest - are worms always visible in droppings if studied closely enough or do they only become apparent when advanced?
...also, could too much vinegar affect calcium uptake for shell production I wonder? (I don't know, just occurred to me.)
 
Rick is right about ACV - some people do give it to chickens as a gut tonic, and it is said to increase resistance to worms, though opinions are mixed on this, but it's definitely NOT an effective wormer. It's best to use Flubenvet, available on the Internet as a powder that you mix into a weighed amount of pellets and feed only this for 7 days. Flubenvet is the only wormer licensed for poultry that has no egg withdrawal problems, it's very safe and fully effective if administered properly every 4-6 months. You can obtain it as ready mixed pellets, but for so few little hens, this isn't economic as there will be quite a lot left over which will be out of date by the next time. The powder itself is easy to mix and a pot will provide 20 doses so will do your girls four times. However, if your birds have never had it, you should give them a course of it and repeat this three weeks later, as by then they may have further worms from eggs which hadn't hatched in their gut to be dealt with the first time round.
All chickens get worms, and can resist low levels of infestation if otherwise healthy, but a bad infestation can really pull a hen down and decrease her ability to resist other health problems. Worms can also cause egglaying problems, though I'm not saying this is the case with Pavlova. Hens can pick up worm eggs if eating earthworms or slugs, as these creatures are intermediate hosts for chicken worms. The worms hatch in the hens gut, and their eggs are excreted in droppings on the ground, which are either pecked over by the hens or eaten by the earthworms, and so the cycle is perpetuated.
So, as Pavlova appears OK in other ways, it might be worth worming them all and then reassess the situation. Was her laying normal last year, and has she been laying lots of softies his year, or just one or two?
There's an article on worming that might interest you on the main Poultrykeeper website, see
http://poultrykeeper.com/general-chickens/worming-chickens
Worms are only apparent in droppings if the infestation has got to an advanced stage. And if regularly treated with Flubenvet you shouldn't be able to see any. However, you have the option of getting the droppings tested for worms by sending faecal samples to The Chicken Vet for around £14, see
http://www.chickenvet.co.uk/shop/view/index.aspx/product/faeces-sampling-67
-but most keepers just dose with Flubenvet every 4 months or so.
 
Hi Peter, Are you giving Grit in their food? i feed my hens, layers pellets with v-mix already in the food, although this is not a wormer, it helps to keep their gut in good condition, i also do give my girls ACV once a week, just to keep on top of things.
I worm my girls every 3/6 months with flubenvet over a 7 day period.
I hope your girlie is ok hun x
 
lady grey is right about them needing grit, but it's usual to supply this in a separate pot so they can help themselves as and when they need it. I don't think it's very likely that a lack of grit is causing Pavlova's laying problem, as insufficient grit would affect a hen's digestion rather than her laying. Also, all of them would presumably be affected, not just one.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Back
Top