HENthusiastic Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 Hi, one of my girls regularly lays softies and two of my girls have been ill recently, another of my girls is brooding at the moment for the third time since I got her! So, Ive been dosing them all up with limestone flour and poultry spice. What worries me, is that I seem to be getting more and more generous with these. Can they actually have TOO much limestone flour and poultry spice? Do I need to be careful with them, or is it like fresh veg......... only full of goodness? Ive also been giving them vitamins in the water that my vet gave me when they were ill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jomaxsmith Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I think any surplus calcium is excreted as bumps on the egg shells. I don't know about the Poultry Spice but given that it's supposed to be an occasional pick me up rather than a regular part of their diet I would probably hold back a bit. If nothing else, it could take the place in their tummies of more nutritious food. Jo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 20, 2008 Share Posted October 20, 2008 I think you can give them too much. Just a small amount should do the trick. I give mine a desertspoonful of limestone flour into a bucket full of pellets. (Think orange B&Q bucket for size) for 14 hens. They have 2 -3 bucketsful a week. I don't give the Poultry Spice that often, but I seem to remember giving a teaspoonful per grub.....now and then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HENthusiastic Posted October 21, 2008 Author Share Posted October 21, 2008 Okay I'll cut down then. Just want them to be big and strong and healthy and at the moment some of them seem a bit boney when I handle them. I'll have to stick to stuff like tuna and mealworms to try to build them up. Thanks for the advice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Egluntyne Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Layers do tend to be on the thin side, and the flesh either side of the keel bone isn't as plump as that on a bird raised for the table. All quite normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 I've been like you too. though not with the spice! Don't over do the cod liver oil whatever you do.... 2 eggs I've had now tasted of it! put me off a bit... OH didn't taste it... letting him eat whats left & getting the d3 supplement instead Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sparkysmum Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 Oooooooooooooooooooops. looks like I've been overdoing it.In my quest to be the best hen mummy I've overdosed the girls However they have been transformed and are now round and glossy. Maybe its time to cut back on the supplements. Thanks for the advice Egluntine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandyhas3chucks Posted October 21, 2008 Share Posted October 21, 2008 mmmm mine shiney too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bephlam Posted October 25, 2008 Share Posted October 25, 2008 I use poultry spice 2 or 3 times a week (usually in their porridge before bed!). I know some people put aniseed in their feed all the time. So, if they love poultry spice you could use it a couple of times a week and substitute the rest of the time with aniseed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daj198 Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I must have started giving them too much limestone flour when their poos became like cement and left scale on the roosting bars! They were still laying soft eggs though- turned out to be because of a tumour. It is definitely possible to overdose... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moomin Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I don't give limestone flour as their egg-shells seem OK and I've not had a problem with softies apart from when Bobbie first started laying. I give them 1/4 of a teaspoon of poultry spice each day (2 chooks), that's what they recommend on the box, you can give a bit more in cold weather. And I give them a teaspoon of cod liver oil between them every day, mixed into pellet porridge. I can't taste it in the eggs. They are both pure breeds and are still laying 11 eggs per week between them. Although I am expecting the eggs to tail off soon but they are still going strong at the mo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bephlam Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I was freaked out there for a split second. My name is Bobbie and I was thinking - how does she know my name??? Stupid me...lol. Great name for the chicken though - she'll be a real character! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moomin Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I was freaked out there for a split second. My name is Bobbie and I was thinking - how does she know my name??? Stupid me...lol. Great name for the chicken though - she'll be a real character! That is a great name Bobbie! And she's a lovely chicken - I call her 'Bobs' for short! She is a lovely girl, very pretty and inteligent (sp?) for a Chicken!! (more so than me I can't even spell!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bephlam Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Well it makes sense that she's pretty, intelligent, and charming....I've yet to meet a Bobbie who isn't! I also get called Bobz for short...or B. She's got a great wee name though - you'll need to put a pic of her up for us to see! I called my three typical old women names - Euphemia (because it's really common on old gravestones, but I've yet to meet a live Euphemia), Gwendolyn (because it means blessed ring..and I'm hoping she'll live up to her name with the laying!), and Henrietta (because...she's a hen...and she was meant to rule the home, however she's too soft!!). I have a chicken name list as long as my arm - so I'll need to get busy hatching my own in the spring to allocate all the names out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bephlam Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 I take back the post a picture comment - I've just found your pics. She's lovely...as is her little mate - Skye! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moomin Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 She's got loads bigger since then and is VERY beautiful, here is a more recent one of her, although still a few weeks ago. She's the girlie on the right - posing'!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bephlam Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 (edited) Wow, she's a lot different from the pictures I viewed!! She's a real beauty, as is Skye! Here is a silly pic of my three, all fighting to get priority cuddles!! Edited October 26, 2008 by Guest Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moomin Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 Lovely girls - a whole armful of chicken!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bephlam Posted October 26, 2008 Share Posted October 26, 2008 lol - yeah, they LOVE fighting for attention. I never would have believed how affectionate chickens can be!! I love them!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
