3.6m Omlet Chicken Run for sale, Brand New in Boxes, Milton Keynes (MK19)

[MaggieTempleman]

Despite trying everything, I still have a problem with one of my three hens laying very very soft-shelled eggs – sometimes the shells are partly formed, almost like greaseproof paper and sometimes slightly rough.

 

So, I have done the following:

 

Davinova in the water

Ivermectin on the back of the neck

Flubenvet in food

Nutri Drops – when she looks very sorry for herself

Bran & Limestone powder mixed with natural live yoghourt.

 

The shells are paper thin – and just break as she lays them. This is happening virtually every day and has now been going on for about 6 weeks. She also has quite dirty white knickers! Not sure if this is related?

 

She is having layers pellets, greens, mealworms and corn – but predominantly layers pellets. The hens are in an enclosure about 20 feet x 8 feet. I clean out their chicken palace every week.

 

Any advice you can give me would be great – am at wit’s end!

 

Many thanks Maggie

[Aga n Chickens]

Hello Maggie

 

We're having the same problem with one of our Omlet chooks but I'm not sure yet which one it is.

 

We moved house 6 weeks ago and all was well with the chooks at first, we didn't think that the stress of the move had upset them.

 

Most days for the last 5 weeks or so there has been egg shell and yolk on the complete eggs and sometimes the chooks are still in the nest box eating what's left of the soft egg.

 

Cleaning out the bars yesterday I noticed 2 egg yolks and just as you described a fine paper shell that had burst.

 

None of the chooks is looking under the weather so I think that this might be a set back while their new feathers are growing.

 

Our chooks are now over 2 years old so perhaps age might have something to do with it ?

 

I've also stepped up their oyster grit, given then all a dose of Flubenvet, and they have the run of the new garden, so plenty of worms, snails and greenery.

 

If one of they chooks starts to look off colour I'd start to worry, but at the moment they are all still like playing 'grape rugby' when it's time to get them back into the cube run.

 

Kind regards,

 

Christine

[Chooks Aloud]

They sometimes do have blips and can lay softies, however, if this is a continual occurance the best thing to do is let her have a rest from laying and things will sort themselves out. To do this stop feeding her pellets and just feed corn. This will bring on a moult and stop the laying process. Once she's in moult, stop the corn and put them back on pellets. The moulting period can last from a few weeks to a couple of months, but this will give her the rest she needs and once fully feathered up she will produce hard shell eggs again.

 

Hope this helps.

[stoice]

My bluebelle is the same, I have done the same as you, she sometimes has poop in her knickers but i put that down to my bluebelle being quite fluffy in the knicker dpt.

 

I've tried at various different intervals

Zocal D in the water

Limestone powder mixed with mash

Cod Liver Oil

Flubenvet for worms

Life guard in water

ACV in water

Spice

Bokashi bran and natural live probiotic yoghourt.

Diatom in dust bath and in house.

 

She moulted in winter but was iffy in egg laying before then too. I gave her mealworms, alflfa and some tune every now and then.

 

I'm going to give her a bath in dog flea shampoo this weekend (Just under carriage and knickers) as she's a little bare below so i thought a deplumming mite may be the offender.

 

She's happy, perky and not underweight or overweight (I think). She is 2 years old though so maybe that's it for proper eggs from her from now on. She may just have to be my pretty little freeloader.

 

Once my marriages mash is finished I'm trying her (And all my girls) on Garvo feed and we'll see if anything changes and will let you know.

[Egluntyne]

Why not try to stop her laying for a while by shortening her day, ie putting her to bed early, so that she has fewer than 14 hours light a day, and giving her predominantly wheat to eat for a short time. If the problem is an exhausted shell gland in a prolific layer, this might be enough to allow her to recover.

 

If she has had infectious bronchitis, that will affect the shell gland, and a forced moult may help in that situation, but it can be stressful for the hen.