edharvey17 Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 Hi, I'm slight concerned for our hens but not sure if I need to be after reading some of the other posts. One of our girls (Hugh - don't ask!!) laid a soft shell egg which fell through the bars on Saturday then was really quiet, off her food and standing on her own in the garden really off her normal self - she even turned up her nose at cucumber!! I then found some dried yolk in the nest area and some on both girls - plus saw Hugh then eating another soft shelled one this morning.... I did have a hard shelled one on Sunday by Terri but no eggs yesterday which is quite unusual. They have oyster shell in their feed and some poultry spice but not sure if I should get some Limestone Flour as suggested by others? Also, they seem to poo in their nest box and Terri has a bit of a dirty vent from sleeping in some - shall I give them a little bath and if so whats the best way to do this and what can I use to clean them - baby shampoo?? Any help hugely appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 7, 2009 Share Posted April 7, 2009 I wouldn't be unduly concerned unless it continues for a while. I've been getting a few softies and soft-shelled eggs recently and have started giving them limestone flour. This usually works. You might not want them eating the eggs though as they may get a taste for it - I suppose the only way round that is to monitor the egg box as best you can & remove any eggs or bits of egg. You can certainly wash their botties if you want to. I've only done it once and think I used Ecover washing up liquid . Baby shampoo would probably be better! (They enjoy a gentle warm blow dry with a hairdryer, by the way .) Re the poo in the nestbox, I keep a little plastic scoop by the eglu and scoop any poo out onto the roosting bars each morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edharvey17 Posted April 7, 2009 Author Share Posted April 7, 2009 thanks for this - I'll try the limestone flour and try to keep an eye on laying etc. BTW, I don't really want to clean their botties - more of a necessity really ha ha! Will try some baby shampoo and get the hairdrier on them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
