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

[jackian]

Poppy is now 2 years old and her eggs have always been great. of course because of the winter they been every other day but very thin shells ,so thin that she has sat on two and broken them. If I bring them in doors I only have to touch the shell and it slighty cracks.

They also have a pale stripe around the middle and the whites are sort of throthy .When cooked the yolk is perfect but the white has a funny texture.My OH put one in a pan the other day and it exploded.

She has been moulting and now looks gorgious with her her new outfit . She is fine in herself and upto chickeny things.

I have been giving them baked ground eggs shells and limestone flour .The other two girls eggs are perfect ..

Is she coming to the end of egg laying ?

[The Dogmother]

It could just be that her shell gland is a bit knackered with age; this often sorts itself out when they stop laying to moult, but this isn't always the case. If it is an age thing then you will just have to live with it I'm afraid, perhaps you can scramble her eggs and give them back to her.

[jackian]

DogmotherThank you for your advice which is as i expected. Really just wanted someone with knowledge to convince me.

Poppy has laid every single day for 22 months which is just too much I reckon . I did not want her to be a machine.

I am hoping to get two new girls in the spring and I think pure breeds are going to be my choice.

[The Dogmother]

TBH, I never have any egg-related problems with my pure breeds, they are very hardy but I just don't get eggs through the winter; a small price to pay for a bunch of healthy hens.

[dance in the dark]

Speaking as someone with six hybrids and 12 pure breeds I would say that the longevity of pure breeds is appealing.

 

I have three hybrids who barely lay (two young ones and a trouper of a bluebell, over two and still laying pretty well) and of those two, two of them have rubbish shells.

 

I have never had a pure breed produce a soft shelled egg, plus pure breeds tend to still lay well, when in season. I have an araucana who has just finished her third season and she still laid 4/5 out of seven days through summer.

 

Also, it is worth keeping in mind that some pure breeds will lay a bit through the winter.My Orpingtons, who are not generally great layers have gone down from about 3 eggs out of 7 days too 2. Also, my lone naked neck is still laying (but I should hope so given that she was broody three times this year!) And my marans, who are about 32 weeks old came into lay just before Christmas. That also shows another thing which is nice about pure breeds, they don't come into lay until their bodies are really ready. I have never had it happen but from what I understand pure breeds are also less prone to prolapse and being egg bound etc.

 

If you do your research, get a good mix of breeds and get decent stock, you can rely quite well on pure breeds producing at least a few eggs through a year. Although obviously I don't know how much space you have....I have more that my parents would like...

 

Tim

[dance in the dark]

Oh, also cream legbars. Two of mine came into lay this time last year (3rd of January I believe) and laid up until about November. One of them has had a quick moult and laid and egg on Saturday. Solid work!