Cluckin Belle Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I'm a new girl to this chicken raising, i thought i'd keep a couple as pets eglu arrived OH got the 3 chickens Amber called Amy, Babcock called Bubbles and Magpie called Maggie and we read up on the forum all about keeping chickens. they are such wondrous creatures, with their little characters i'm totally taken with them. our first egg duly arrived on 9th April 09 delivered by our top hen Amy, what a star then oh disaster all we get is sporadic soft shelled eggs. Egster Monday - such a raucous at 6.50am and my mad, fly chasing black magpie hen lays her first egg she's my star she's laid every morning since (with less noise thankfully). To try to cure the soft eggs we stopped all treats, baked and ground the empty egg shells and fed them + poultry spice, chicken grit from the omlet shop with the layers pellets. Sunday 19th April 09 our first 3 egg day. Hooray i hear you cheer, well yes but top hen Amy was all hunched up tonight and laid another soft shelled egg then promptly put herself to bed that's 2 hard and 6 soft ones. should I be worried there are 6 of us and we all like poached eggs on marmite toast on saturdays wot to do!! any suggestions out there, help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redwing Posted April 20, 2009 Share Posted April 20, 2009 I wouldn't be unduely worried, they are new to this egg laying lark after all! The grit doesn't help with soft eggs but the eggshells might If it continues you could try adding limestone flour (from horsey shops) to their pellets to up the calcium intake Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 21, 2009 Share Posted April 21, 2009 I'm getting lots of softies at the moment (although my girls are a bit older at 2). I've tried the limestone flour but got some Zolcal D eventually to see if that would help. We're now getting 2 hard eggs a day but still a softie every other day or so. It's only been 4 or 5 days though. I'm not suggesting you get Zolcal D as it's early days but just so you know for future reference! Does your grit have oystershell in it? That helps eggshells. Also, Egluntine suggests adding a dollop of cod liver oil to the limestone flour to help with the absorbtion of the calcium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cluckin Belle Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 Many Thanks for the advice and one week on my girls are all stars i've had 2 yes 2 double yolkers this week, one was a wooping 79g from amy my soft shell laying hen. they have settled down and make very little noise and the whole family seems to be taken with them, although OH not keen today when he saw what they had done to his lawn. they're just trying to increase their protein levels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 That's good news . I've not had any softies for 2 days so I'm hopeful we've turned the corner too . Omlet netting is a good way to keep chickens away from precious lawns or veg patches . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aggienator Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 OH not keen today when he saw what they had done to his lawn. they're just trying to increase their protein levels It's a new Lawn aerator and scarrifier that also lays eggs: what's his problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ain't Nobody Here Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 They also double as lawn edge shears ...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
