Janepie33 Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 We have 3 ex batts that initially laid quite nice eggs, but now 2 of them constantly lay eggs with paper thin shells or no shells at all. I have tried increasing grit in their diet and restricting treats, but to no avail. Any advice greatly appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mollyripkim Posted October 1, 2015 Share Posted October 1, 2015 I seem to remember a drop of cod liver oil in their food helps with the absorption of calcium. There are specialist products you can buy to add to their food. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 6, 2015 Share Posted October 6, 2015 It could be due to their age and history, but a couple of areas that I always recommend looking at: When did you last worm them with Flubenvet? If you haven't done it at all/recently, then worm them with Flubenvet and nowt else. What do they eat? They need to have pellets as 98% of their diet; very little as treats and other stuff, and certainly no processed or human food. I would address the options above first, and augment their diet with extra calcium; you can add some limestone flour or baked, ground eggshells to their pellets, and add a dribble of cod liver oil to help it bind, and to aid the assimilation of the calcium. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lewis Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 You can add as much calcium as you like to their diet but you'll just have expensive poo if they don't have the right phosphorous ratio (3:1) in their diet. They're older hens and ex-commercial so it's not unusual, they may also be coming up to the moult so that will help by giving them a break for a few weeks. I'd make sure they're wormed and on a good quality layers pellet. Cut out the supplements and treats for a few weeks and you should see a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dogmother Posted October 9, 2015 Share Posted October 9, 2015 The wheat and corn element in their pellets should provide enough phosphorus, if you're in any doubt, just add a bit of bokashi bran to their feed, or treat them to some broccoli Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Janepie33 Posted October 10, 2015 Author Share Posted October 10, 2015 Thanks everyone. We have had a little success with the additional oyster shell and reducing treats. I realise the last time the girls were wormed was in March when we got them. I use the Marriages fee with Flubenvet which appears to work successfully. Maybe they are due another round of this -no harm in trying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
