Is your dog's unusual barking a secret code for something mysterious?

[Bramble]

Hi everyone! Iv had my three ex-batts for nearly six weeks. Until quite recently, they layed an average of 2 eggs a day, but over the last week that's become one "good egg" and one thin shell egg (that they tend to have trodden on and eaten by the time I get home) Im not too worried as eggs were always going to be a bonus, but just wondered if this suggests there's something wrong? I have started to give them limestone flour everyday and have started to mix oystershell and grit in their feed as they didn't seem to be eating any from their grit pot. I wormed them at the weekend with verm X and they are on ex-batt crumbs, they are eating very well and don't show any signs of being ill. Any other suggestions, please?

Thanks everyone!

[Christian]

Good to give them limestone flour, that can help a lot. A dollop of cod liver oil could also help (mix it with the crumb) as it helps with the absorption of calcium.

 

Vermx is a preventative wormer which makes the gut less hospitable to worms. It is not a worming treatment as such and will not kill worms if present. Details about Flubenvet wormer can be found in the frequently asked questions section.

 

Could they be moulting? My Barnevelder started moulting a few days ago and has a bald neck at the moment.

[veggiemad]

hey- good on you for getting exbatts -

 

I've got 6 - from 2 rescues. The first rescuees laid well for about 2 weeks then went off- getting only 1 from 3 hens, for ages- and i'm sorry to say this rarely improved- lots of softies. I , like you treated them with Flubenvet and added things to water etc. My max was 2 a day , but normally only 1. However, i then rescued another 4 in may this year and get 3 eggs from the four hens now. They are laying much better- it may be to do with age, or whether they are moulting or regrowing feathers if they were bald from the battery farm. One of my first ex batts died last month- gutted, and she was the one that laid softies, but she was well in all other respects so i let her lay them and then chucked them away.

 

You are doing everything - i might suggest flubenvet instead of verm-x as already suggested, one of mine had worms already when they were rescued so did the whole lot.

 

Enjoy them- they are ace. Hope it picks up soon, I know its not the reason to rescue, but its a bonus!!

[Bramble]

Thanks, I've also started to wonder if they are moulting - very hard to tell when one in particular looks rather thread bare anyway! I've got one girl who is quite well feathered and I think she is the one that consistently lays one good egg most days. The other two are much more scruffy and I suspect these two are responsible for the thin shelled eggs. Having said this, we had two lovely eggs yesterday, but so far today, one good egg and one thin shelled.

 

Apart from the way they look, they seem healthy (if you know what I mean) and most importantly they seem very happy, they very excited to see the mealworm packet this morning - one escaped from the run today (just what I needed when I'm late for work) in her eagerness to jump into the packet, but fortunately, she realised quite quickly that her two well behaved sisters got mealworms inside the run and she didn't get any on the outside so she headed back in pretty quick smartish!!!

 

They are lovely to have, if we're not going to get many eggs that's fine, just so long as laying thin shells isn't a sign they are unwell!

[Lavenders_Blue]

I think thin shells can just be one of those things with ex batts. I have one girl who lays thin shelled eggs. The other girls' eggs are fine. They are all on the same food with the same access to grit/oystershell etc so I don't think it's anything to do with diet, or they would all have the same problem.

[Bramble]

I think thin shells can just be one of those things with ex batts. I have one girl who lays thin shelled eggs. The other girls' eggs are fine. They are all on the same food with the same access to grit/oystershell etc so I don't think it's anything to do with diet, or they would all have the same problem.

I'd wondered that too!!! I have had a few very rare occasions when there have been three perfect eggs, so I know they can all lay them, but suspect at least one finds it much harder than the others. The one "good egg" I had yesterday was actually quite pretty, all speckled with white dots, which I suspect suggests that the limestone flour is being eaten by at least one of them!!!

[chickyhazel]

Ex batts often struggle to lay good eggs because of the demands placed on them earlier on in life. Also, chickens lay thinner shelled eggs when they are nearing the end of their laying life. Could that be it?