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

[Ness3103]

just wondered if laying a softie everyday since july is ok tia was on antibiotics in july because of an infection and she has only laid softies since then. she is happy and healthy in every other way but i wondered if it could harm her. i've tried limestone powder, extra oyster shell, poultry spice, lifeguard and she's wormed regularly but she still lays softies

[veggiemad]

i'm glad you posted this as we get a softie about 5 times a week, we have grit, limestone flour, crushed egg shells, poultry spice and lifeguard tonic!!! but no improvement. Its one of 2 hens as the 3rd hen lays about 6 good eggs a week and some often are white on the outside because of too much extra calcium!!

 

will be interested to see what advice you get, coz i'm at a dead end with my girls and softies are such a waste!!! otherwise mine are fine too!!

 

x

[Ness3103]

it's so frustrating to see lovely eggs go to waste and it would be nice to get 4 eggs a day too. 2 of my girls lay every day and ebony had a break for a couple weeks but seems to be back on track now. i have actually given up on tia ever laying eggs with shells although she does go into the nestbox every day so maybe she's going to suprise me one day

[sjp]

add cod liver oil to the feed a couple of times a week also dried meal worms as a treat a couple of times a week. it could be that she need more vitamin D than the other hens had the same problem with big red when she started laying. she still lays one about every 10 days or so. also check the sell by date on the feed the older the feed gets it loses vitamins and minerals

I also found out from the web site that life guard needs to be used for a week which my bottle didn't say

[Ness3103]

thank you, i didn't know about the lifeguard either, i'll check the feed too. i've tried the cod liver oil and mealworms to (which she didn't like )

 

i think i'll just have to admit defeat where she's concerned i was more worried that it could be harming her.

[sjp]

I've got one that does much care for dried meal worms as well

dandilions are a natural source of calcium to

you might have to think about a new brand of feed

have you had a look at the link on this post:- viewtopic.php?f=11&t=52476&view=unread#unread it might help

[Peter S]

We seem to be getting more than our fair share of softies too. At the moment, we have 4 laying hens, but also have three table birds, two of which are female. We meant to dispatch the meat birds before they got to the laying age, but our freezer is full to bursting, what with all the alloment produce!

 

Anyhow, we are now getting more eggs than we have hens! Yesterday, we collected three "proper" eggs, two intact softies and there were also two broken softies in the nest...! On other occasions we have collected five "proper" eggs and two softies.

 

The hens do not appear to be particularly bothered by this, and there is plenty of oyster shell, etc for them. However, it seems strange that we are getting so many eggs - it is possible for a hen to lay more than one softie a day?!

 

Peter

[chickenlicken72]

I am glad to see that my Trinny is not alone. She is producing more and more softies. I have upped the calcium intake of all the chickens (using a combination of more grit/oyster shell, limestone flour, cod-liver oil, mealworms, lifeguard etc) but I cautious that there are a few reports out there that suggest that too much calcium is harmful. All of the other chickens who are laying are fine.

 

My biggest concern is that the eggs are not coming out intact and are often broken prior to being laid. Don't want bits of broken egg remaining inside and causing bigger issues. I took her to the vet last week who gave her a quick shot of an anti-inflammatory and suggested she may just be prone to soft eggs and that worse case it could be infectious bronchitis. However, Trinny is an omlet hen and is fully vaccinated against infectious bronchitis. She just looks so pitiful and withdrawn when laying a softee

 

New plan is to go back to basics and try adjusting their diet again by reducing their treats.

 

Fingers crossed that it works - I'm not particularly worried about the eggs more the happiness and health of my hens.

[Space Chick]

Broccoli is high in calcium, I have been trying to give broccoli more as treats since I have had the ex batts, as one is prone to softies.

[Suzy]

Broccoli is high in calcium, I have been trying to give broccoli more as treats since I have had the ex batts, as one is prone to softies.

 

Silly, question... do you cook it first? I have one exbatt who is very prone to softees and we have eggshells, oyster shells, (no limestone flour as they refuse to eat anything with it on or in so brocolli migh tbe a good idea....