newlaidegg Posted January 3, 2008 Share Posted January 3, 2008 Hi I have just read all the threads on soft-shelled eggs but have a few questions still... How long before I start to worry that something is really wrong (Gladys has been laying softies for over 2 weeks now). These are her first eggs so is it likely to be a temporary glitch? Also, all the other hens are laying good, hard-shelled eggs, so if it was a problem with calcium shouldn't the rest of them be experiencing the same problems? Thanks everyone! x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomaxsmith Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 My Coral laid soft eggs on and off when we first got her then had a week when she laid a softie every day. I upped the calcium with limestone flour etc and she's been fine for the couple of weeks since. My other two hens weren't laying at that point so I don't know if it was to do with her or the food. I guess different hens need differing amounts of calcium so perhaps it would be an idea to try to get more calcium into her and see if that makes any difference Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urbanchick Posted January 4, 2008 Share Posted January 4, 2008 One of my gingernuts has been laying a few softies recently, after reliably laying a perfect egg every day. I am convinced it is the cold weather as they have all dropped egg production when it's cold and picked up immediately the weather warms up. Once again they have slowed down in the last couple of days when the temperature dropped again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fryer Cluck Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 One of our birds, an ex battery hen, actually lays the odd shelled egg, the occasional soft shelled egg but usually just the egg. She gets a dose of Calciboost with sweetcorn along with recycled egg shells but by and large it does not appear to make much difference. She knows that she gets special treatment so we are wondering if she is playing us along! They all have layers pellets and after lunch free range the garden every day to bedtime. She appears in great health and the eggs that drop in the Eglu poo tray are greatly appreciated by our Retriever. When she does produce the egg shell is very rough more like sandpaper. We have come to the conclusion that it may simply be that after a living the life of a battery bird her body simply is no longer up to it. We had one of our ex battery girls die and a vet did an xray, (as much for his own curiosity as anything) The bones were so thin they appeared as if they were the thickness of a human hair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted January 17, 2008 Share Posted January 17, 2008 Also, all the other hens are laying good, hard-shelled eggs, so if it was a problem with calcium shouldn't the rest of them be experiencing the same problems? Not necessarily....they all absorb it differently. Try adding some limestone flour (available at equestrian shops) to the feed. It is pure calcium carbonate and very readily absorbed. I read somewhere, but I can't remember where so can't provide a link, that hens who regularly lay soft shelled eggs might also need extra Vit D, and the advice was to stir a bit of cod liver oil into the pellets. I have had very good results with the limestone flourl. Calcium is needed not just for the egg shell, but for the muscular contractions required to push the egg out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanut12 Posted January 31, 2008 Share Posted January 31, 2008 I've heard you can also crush up previous egg shells and mix that in with their feed to boost calcium levels. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hen Watch Posted February 1, 2008 Share Posted February 1, 2008 I keep all my egg shells to give to my hens. I bake them in the oven first for 5 mins then just crush them in my hands. I have a jar of mixed grit and I just pop the crushed shell in with it, shake it up and give them some grit/shell every day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snowcloud Posted February 3, 2008 Share Posted February 3, 2008 Thanks to everyone for these tips, we have a chicken with this problem when the other one is perfectly fine; you need a sledgehammer to get into her eggs! It just makes the soft egg shells from the other one so strange. I shall try a few of these tips, as I had started to get a bit concerned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
