4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Sarah B]

Hi All Fountains of Knowledge,

 

I have posted about this before ages ago and thought it would clear up but it hasn't. Basically Tikka used to lay fine - same as Madras, perfect egg in the nest every morning. For a while now (2 months plus) she has been laying everyday still, but instead of doing a normal one in the morning she lays a very brittle shelled egg usually on the roosting bars - I think she does them in the evening as I caught her doing it once.

 

Where the shell is very brittle and soft, the egg breaks into the poo tray. Not only am I down to only one egg a day its messy to clear up and gets smelly.

 

So far I am trying -

Poultry Spice

The good grit with shells in from Omlet

Limestone Flour

Bokashi

Cod Liver Oil

Pick me up Tonic in the water

 

They have organic layers pellets and greens with some mixed corn and the odd corn on the cob as well.

 

Where am I going wrong or does Tikka have a problem with her egg works? She does not look ill or anything like that.

 

Thanks, Sarah.

 

PS: Not only are the shells very thin and brittle they are very pale in colour, almost ivory and when she was laying normally they were normal pale brown/beige eggs - not sure if this is an extra clue to what the problem is?

Edited October 15, 2008 by Guest

[..lay a little egg for me]

Well, I know the colour gets laid down last so that would imply that the egg is passing through the system too quickly to get its full coating of shell. There are some products that are supposed to help I think. I have seen details on other threads.

 

I'm sure Egluntine will know...

[Egluntyne]

Maybe a bit of extra Vit D might do the trick. It helps with the absorption and metabolism of calcium.

 

I give mine a dollop of cod liver oil stirred into their pellets a couple of times a week.

 

You could also try a commercial Vit D and calcium supplement such as Zolcal D.

 

Have you considered the possibility that she might have **Egg Drop Syndrome** ?

[Sarah B]

Maybe a bit of extra Vit D might do the trick. It helps with the absorption and metabolism of calcium.

 

I give mine a dollop of cod liver oil stirred into their pellets a couple of times a week.

 

You could also try a commercial Vit D and calcium supplement such as Zolcal D.

 

Have you considered the possibility that she might have **Egg Drop Syndrome** ?

 

Thanks Egluntine will try the Zolcal D. Im already doing the cod liver oil, I don't think it is EDS because there is no decreased output, she does the soft shell everyday reg as clockwork. Plus if it was that and it's spread in poo etc surely Madras would have it too and her eggs are fine?

 

It is a mystery.

 

Sarah x

[Sarah B]

Before the egg problem started - we got these from Tikka - kept for posterity of course! The tiny one weighs virtually nothing as its air and the whopper is 120g!!!!!!!!!! Hope you like my Martha Stewart chicken shape chopping board

 

 

 

The coin is a one pound, not very clear.

[Hen Watch]

Hi Sarah B,

 

I have the same with Henny (who I've had for 19 months from Omlet). I give Limestone Flour daily but still get pale, very thin shelled eggs. Today I managed to get to it quickly but usually she breaks the shell and eats it. It is not a softie (with the papery shell) but just as you describe. It feels like a normal egg until you crack it and it is really thin shelled.

 

Since she is a hybrid I had put it down to "winding down" and possibly the end of her egg laying life.

[Egluntyne]

Since she is a hybrid I had put it down to "winding down" and possibly the end of her egg laying life.

 

 

I'm sure you are right. My older girls occasionally lay eggs like this.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

That huge one deserves to be on the Omlet Large Egg Leader Board . Can you weigh the tiny one? It may get on the Small Leader Board .

[Sarah B]

That huge one deserves to be on the Omlet Large Egg Leader Board . Can you weigh the tiny one? It may get on the Small Leader Board .

 

I think it's already on there at 3g's

[Sarah B]

Well!

 

I started the Zolcal D in the water last Saturday and I also stopped the limestone flour in the feed as I think I may have been giving the one that has phosperous in as well as calcium instead of being the pure calcium one and guess what?!

 

Got home Monday eve and 2 eggs in the nest! I thought it must be a coincidence but Tikka has now laid a good hardish egg every day since!!!! Agreed the shell is still a little thin and I erm 'don't want to count my chickens' so to speak just yet but surely this can't be a coincidence?

 

Sarah x

[helenmb]

I found with my first 2 girls as they got older that we had more and more problems with one hen in particular laying very thin shelled eggs. I, like you, tried every supplement you could think of but eventually put it down to being a henopause thing.

 

I also thought that because the egg wasn't quite right that it was layed in the roosting area because the hen knew it wasn't a normal egg and therefore didn't associate it with laying it in the nest box, more like a big shelly/eggy pooh rather (if you get my drift).