Pro - Does anyone else's nest boxes get soaked in rain?

[shimmygirl]

Hi, i need advice about feeding layer pellets. I am the very excited new owner of 2 beautiful omlet chicken (delivered a week ago) a gingernut and miss pepperpot. The gingernut is very shy but eating layer pellets quite happily and has settled in well. Miss pepperpot is a little bit more fussy and hasn't touched the layer pellets since she came. I have been giving them a small amount of corn, grapes, tomatoes and cooked pasta etc each day when i get home from work but not enough so that she does not eat the layer pellets in the day. On sunday my daughter and i were watching them free range in the garden and out popped an egg!! with no shell!!! Yesterday another egg with no shell was found in the nesting box. Why?? Please help, i am new to chickens!

[Olly]

Welcome to the forum, and congratulations on getting your chickens.

 

Very young hens that are just starting to lay will often lay soft-shelled eggs, so I wouldn't worry too much - it's very likely that she will have her laying gear sorted out in a few days, and start producing the real thing for you. It can be a sign that they need more grit or calcium in their diet, but the most likely explanation with youngsters is just that their system hasn't quite caught up, the pellets should contain everything they need for now so I would just wait and see if it sorts itself out.

 

I am guessing that the hen that eats a lot is also the one that is laying? They eat much more when they are laying, and it probably looks as if the other hen isn't eating much but she will be taking in what she needs - hens never knowingly go on a diet! Again, as long as you're only feeding a handful of treats I wouldn't worry, as soon as she comes into lay she'll be tucking in like mad.

 

This is a great place to get your questions answered, and there are lots of 'sticky' threads in the FAQ section so it's always worth a look there, too. It can feel daunting when you have chooks for the first time, but don't worry - they know what they are doing, and in a few weeks you'll feel like an old hand.

[shimmygirl]

Thank you for your very helpful fast reply!

The chicken laying the soft eggs is the one that is not eating any layer pellets and hasn't touched them since she arrived. I have read that they will not starve themselves and have tried the tough love technique, but she happily pecks at the garden but will not eat pellets.

[Egluntyne]

She will be eating them ... after all this is what she was being fed before she came to you. I would hold out fr longer and not give her anything apart from pellets and water. She will be tucking in when you aren't looking.

 

It could be that the other hen is guarding the food, so why not put out a second bowl?

[Margalot]

Hi,

When I first got my chickens one of them wouldnt touch the pellets, other than when softened them with a little water in a bowl on the floor, she then gobbled them up like there was no tomorrow. They may have been used to mash rather than pellets, but rest assured they will get used to the pellets eventually!

[The Dogmother]

She will be eating them ... after all this is what she was being fed before she came to you. I would hold out fr longer and not give her anything apart from pellets and water. She will be tucking in when you aren't looking.

 

It could be that the other hen is guarding the food, so why not put out a second bowl?

 

I'd do that too, and keep them in the run for a few days so that she's eating her proper food and not filling up around the garden. She'll soon get the idea.

[essexhen]

Were they fed on mash before? it might be an idea to pop some mash out in a seperate container and introduce the pellets gradually. -

[LunaKiw1]

We had two Omlet hens and both ate pellets happily. however when we got three more from another supplier after those original two were PTS. The new girls wouldn't eat pellets at all but when we gave them layers mash they gobbled it up both dry and also moistened. So buying a small bag of layers mash might be worth trying.

[Purplemaniacs]

My two omlet girls happily ate the pellets.

 

I too would cut down on treats for a while and put out more than one feeding station.

 

Chrissie