Best liner/ bedding for drop tray

[Jophenna]

Hi All,

 

A bit of background first.. from never having kept chooks before, we installed our cube with 3m run just 2 weeks ago, and have two hybrids (not sure of variety), a Rhode Island Red Bantom and a Cream Legbar. The pure breeds were sourced from a family member at 12 months old and were both laying previously. The hybrids were from a local garden centre.

 

A few days in we started getting one egg per day from the RIR, and an egg every other day from one of the hybrids. They've settled in very well and the pecking order has been well and truly established! The Cream Legbar hasn't laid any of her blue eggs yet, which we were expecting by now, with her having laid before... but maybe it'll take more time than we realised for her to adjust to her new home.

 

Over the last three days egg production has slowed from the 1-2 per day to just one every other day. I cleaned the dropping trays this morning and found three soft eggshells and lots of eggy goo. So at least one seems to be laying softies. I'm guessing that these are from the hybrid who started laying about a week ago, as the good egg we're getting every other day is bantom size!

 

We feed them layers pellets in their Grub, and once per day give them a treat of a few peanuts or mealworms or 'Chicken Treat'.

 

Is this normal that when they start laying we will get these, or should we be feeding them grit with their pellets? Is it good practice to feed grit with their pellets all of the time or is it just used when eggs are soft?

 

Thanks for any assistance!

[Chucky Mama]

There are often a few blips in the way of soft shelled eggs when they have been stressed by a move. Make sure that they are eating a good quality layers pellet or mash and they have plenty of fresh water available. Cut out all treats other than maybe a few mealworm and some fresh green leaves (both in moderation). If they are free ranging try and keep them in long enough for them to eat their fill before letting them out.

[Jophenna]

Thanks for your response. Unfortunately they aren't free ranging due to the layout of the garden - I'll cut down on the daily treat to see if that might help.

 

Are you saying that I don't need to add any grit to their food?

[Chucky Mama]

It wont hurt although everything they need is included in the pellets. Grit help them grind food up in their crops. If you are giving grit to provide calcium you need to use oyster shell or soluble grit. They pick up both types of grit when scratching around in the soil. You can also add baked crushed eggshells to their food.

[Jophenna]

Excellent, thanks.