Soft Shells
- Thread starter RustyMac
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Margaid
Well-known member
Are they getting enough calcium RustyMac? Mixed grit is, as the name implies, a mixture of the grit they need for digestion and crushed oyster shell for calcium. You can also buy tubs of plain oyster shell - I sometimes found they had picked most of the oyster shell out of the grit pot so started adding some to the mixed stuff.
How old are they, and what are you feeding them? Most poultry keepers feed layers pellets which contain calcium to aid shell production, whereas growers pellets have much lower levels of calcium.
How old are they, and what are you feeding them? Most poultry keepers feed layers pellets which contain calcium to aid shell production, whereas growers pellets have much lower levels of calcium.
chrismahon
Well-known member
The only thing I would add to Margaid's list is sunlight. If the hens don't get enough they don't produce sufficient vitamin D (I think), which is necessary to move the Calcium to the eggshells. Accepting that may not be something you can alter RustyMac. We had a problem with a Bluebell who spent most of her time in the coop, not the run.
How old are your hens? Older birds that have laid many eggs over their first two years usually produce thinner shells. I've found ?Nettex Mineral Powder to be a good additive to warm mashes for them, it has a balance if minerals plus probiotics and seaweed etc. there's no magic overnight cure for what is essentially a mineral deficiency due to age and laying a lot, but this may help, in addition to the other suggestions.
Thank you everyone for your replies. my hens were rescued from a battery house so not sure how old they are and yes the poor things would have been mass producing I would imagine. I do give them layers pellets, mixed corn and mash with Nettex each day. They are now free range with plenty of space and sunshine (when its out) and love basking in it. The only thing I don't give them is additional grit or Oyster shell as I thought they would get enough natural mineral scratching about. I will get some for them to see if it makes a difference. Many thank's again for your suggestions.
Poor shell quality, strangely shaped eggs and eggs with discoloured or rough shells are common in exbatts, RustyMac, because as you say they have been bred and kept to have every last egg wrung out of them by intensive methods on the farm. This will have included exra light in winter so they don't have a rest to stop or slow down their laying like 'normal' hobby chickens would do, kept outdoors. During this resting time in winter, hobby hens get a chance to replenish their calcium supplies, and I've noticed that eggshells improve when older hens return to lay after a winter break. Consequently, when the farmer knows they are nearly at the end of their time laying perfect, saleable eggs pretty well every day, the whole lot get culled and a fresh batch of pullets is substituted. A lucky few find good homes with kind people like you, but with exbatts you have to bear in mind that the farmer wouldn't have got rid of them if it was likely they had a few more months of laying perfect eggs with strong shells. Sadly, exbatts are also prone to prolapse and peritonitis problems as they approach the end of their lay, because of the intensive workout their systems have been subjected to in their relatively short lives.
It's always a good idea to supply both grit and oyster shell, whatever they're fed, and even if they're free ranging, because then they can take it if they feel the need, its cheap and they don't want much. Depending on where you live and what the soil is like, they may or may not be able to find the right sort of grit to enable them to digest anything like plants or corn, which won't turn to mush in their digestive systems like pellets or mash will. On the farm they will have been fed just mash, but they need proper grit in their new home to help their gizzard grind up any solid food. Flint grit is best, which may not be present in all soils.
It's always a good idea to supply both grit and oyster shell, whatever they're fed, and even if they're free ranging, because then they can take it if they feel the need, its cheap and they don't want much. Depending on where you live and what the soil is like, they may or may not be able to find the right sort of grit to enable them to digest anything like plants or corn, which won't turn to mush in their digestive systems like pellets or mash will. On the farm they will have been fed just mash, but they need proper grit in their new home to help their gizzard grind up any solid food. Flint grit is best, which may not be present in all soils.
Poultryman
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Eggshell strength can be improved by feeding about 50 of the calcium supplement in the form of oyster-shell flakes or coarse limestone with the remaining half as ground limestone. Feeding too much calcium reduces feed consumption and egg production. In addition to calcium, you have to feed a source of phosphorus because the two work together. Bone meal is a good source of calcium and phosphorus. Vit D3 is also necessary for the absorption of calcium.
