Cube mk2 and WIR

[Jonny]

I'm getting too many soft shelled eggs again despite limiting treats, free ranging, corn, providing grit, using poultry spice and worming them!

 

I don't think they eat enough grit. Well I dont think they eat any. I can put some in a hopper and it'll be there for months. I threw some corn in the hopper as well yesterday and I swear they just picked the corn out. I've now mixed it in with there pellets to see if that helps.

 

Do yours eat it without prompting?

[Gamebird]

Basically, from what I understand, chickens need grit to grind their food up in their gizzard.

 

To produce good hard shells they need calcium, and oyster shell does help but limestone flour seems to help much more.

 

My girls have unlimited access to grit and I put a dessertspoon of limestone flour in their layers mash/pellets.

 

As they have matured and with the help of limestone flour it is very rare that they produce a soft shelled egg.

[Egluntyne]

It is Mixed Poultry Grit that they need, with identifiable bits of sea shell in it.

 

You could aslo give them ground oystershell, or Limestone flour.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

I give mine mixed poultry grit in a small pot. I often see them helping themselves.

[sparkysmum]

Hi Jonny, we also had lots of shell-less eggs despite there being endless supplies of mixed grit. Since adding limestone flour to their morning porridge we are getting thin shelled eggs. A slight improvement only My next plan is to up the limestone flour & see if this helps. Hope this helps Allison

[jlo]

I mix up chicken grit which has oystershell and stuff in it with their layers mash. I think that they must get some of it but I notice that, when there are remains in the bowl, it is of the shell bits. They must get some down them because we have not had a softie since the first couple of weeks. You can always bake some shells and grind them down and mix it with the pellets.

[Snowy]

I was in our poultry shop the other day and they have Davinova C - the chap said it worked really well for soft shells, even better than the limestone flour! Add it to the water - I'm getting some on Monday as a couple of mine are now laying softies

[alexgirl73]

I mix it in with their pellets, and tbh I think they eat it that fast they have no idea what they are actually putting in their beaks lol

[Hen Watch]

I have a pot of mixed poultry grit hung up and I do see them pecking at it occassionally.

I add baked, crushed egg shells to their grit which they absolutely love (and are often seen just picking shell out only) and this helps give them extra calcium.

 

I also add Limestone Flour to their feed as I have 1 girl who lays softies.

[Jonny]

Thanks all.

 

Limestone flour and Davinova C are my next port of call.

 

They think as much of baked shells as they do of the mixed grit !

[Jonny]

Typical!

 

Just as I post about too many soft shelled eggs what happens?

 

We get our first 5 out of 5 for about 6 months !!!!!!!!!!!

[moomin]

My two both day 6 days a week and we haven't had softies in months *touch wood* although they only started laying earlier in the Summer so it's early days. Their shells are really hard.

 

You could try grabbing a couple of big handfulls of mixed grit with oyster shell and chucking it across the floor of the run. They enjoy scrabbling about for it more than eating it out of a container, but keep the containers as well though.

 

Beware of giving extra calcium supplements as I think there have been posts on here about giving too much

[welsh sarah]

hi

i dont give mine grit or anything they do freerange most of the time though and i do have lots of eggs

is this something i should do now they are getting older or have i just been lucky

sarah

[MedusA]

I've always given mine their baked and ground egg shells mixed in with their pellets, but since a few softies and thin-shelled eggs I also give a scoop of limestone flour mixed in. They don't always eat it, so I mix the leavings into their weekly porridge. It really does help.

 

I never used to see the girls eating from the pots of grit, but lately I've noticed it a lot. Either I've become more observant or they've realised they need it and have only just got the hang of it now.

 

Welsh sara, it may be that your girls are getting enough grit from free-ranging, but it wouldn't hurt to give them some extra, just in case. I've also found the incidence of softies increases when a hen gets a bit older, so maybe extra calcium in the form of limestone flour too?

[Christian]

Thanks all.

 

Limestone flour and Davinova C are my next port of call.

 

They think as much of baked shells as they do of the mixed grit !

 

A word of warning with Davinova C, it does work but shouldn't be given all the time as it provides too much calcium which could cause other problems.

 

Glad you had a 5/5 day Jonny!

[likeastar--x]

it might not be the grit - i let my hens free range every now and then for a short while, and ive given them a hopper full of grit and they have barely touched it since we got them and ive never replaced it. i have no idea where their getting the grit FROM as we have nothing of the sort in our garden but they must manage as they lay normal eggs.

 

 

oyster shell??