Chooks-in-London Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 Hi all, can anyone can tell me how long it might take for my perfectly good layer who is just over a year old to start laying hard shelled eggs again? I had someone look after my hens over Christmas / new year for about 2 months and during that time she ran out of layer pellets and gave them standard bird seed (she didn't tell me this). Two out of three are fine, but my newest (best laying) hen started laying soft shelled eggs and that was back in jan/feb. They've been back on layer pellets for about 7 weeks now and had grit for about 3 weeks. This morning I caught one of the hens running out of the coop with a newly soft laid egg in her beak - with the other two chasing after her! thanks so much if you take the time to read this and reply with any words of wisdom. X Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimnpaula Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 It sounds like she could do with more calcium - is the grit soluble oystershell or the hard insoluble stuff, or mixed? I would try her with some oystershell if you're not already. Also, to absorb calcium effectively she will need vitamin D which can be found in cod liver oil (just coat the layers pellets with some). You can buy a tonic from the vets (Zolcal D) that goes in the water but that would dose all the birds who drink it, whereas eating oystershell is something she can self regulate. Do let us know how you get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickabee Posted April 18, 2015 Share Posted April 18, 2015 I've given mine a crushed vitamin D tablet in something tasty before. Also something high in selenium would be good. Sunflower seeds are a good source, and they love them, but I wouldn't worry too much. If she's given normal pellets and not too many treats, she should be back to normal soon. A bit of tonic in their water is a good idea too . Orego stim is a good one or you can buy oregano tincture Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted April 20, 2015 Share Posted April 20, 2015 The soft shell problem can be down to one of two things: Either a calcium deficiency - jimnpaula has described how to treat this. I usually use baked, ground eggshells with cod liver oil for the D3 to help them assimilate the calcium. It can also be due to a malfunctioning/worn out shell gland; the former can also be the case in younger birds, and can be an inherent problem, or due to disease, such as Mycoplasma or infectious bronchitis. The latter is usually seen in older birds or ex-batts and is self-descriptive. Neither is treatable, I'm afraid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
