Soft Shells - Shell Max Booster

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hillfooter

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Re: Soft Shells - Shell Max Booster
« Reply #30 on: July 08, 2010, 23:14 »
.are they having too many lovely other foods and leaving the pellets so not getting the right sort of food... they have bread pasta greens fruit tinned corn.. all sorts which they devour!   they love all thier food but leave the pellets till last...

Yes I think you've  answered your own question here.  Treats to be kept to a minimum and fed by hand only in the evening.

The weather is also having an effect currently.  I wouldn't worry unless it becomes longterm chronic.

HF
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joyfull

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Re: Soft Shells - Shell Max Booster
« Reply #31 on: July 09, 2010, 08:25 »
hel help help... i'm really worried... ihave 3 ex batt hens have had them 2 months... they are wonderful and we have been having 3 eggs daily sometimes 2.. yesterday there was one soft rubbery shell... today an egg has been laid with no shell and i think some blood as the paper under the straw seems a bit red. The hens are eating well and running around feeding from my hand etc.. they have grit, pellets and lots of lovely scraps and half an hour a day in the garden out of thier large run.. is my hen ill??... i've read all the useful info omn here but i'm still worried


As they are ex batts they could be coming to the end of their egg laying life - they are bred purely to be egg laying machines and their productive lifespan is very short which is why the farmers get rid of them so early.
Staffies are softer than you think.

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Flowerpower136

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Re: Soft Shells - Shell Max Booster
« Reply #32 on: July 09, 2010, 11:13 »
I think you might need to be a little stricter with their diet.  Pellets must come first to give them the balanced diet they need, and only a small quantity of corn later in the day when they have already eaten their full.  Other treats should be rationed, (apart from greens).

It is common to have 'egg' problems with ex batts cos they've retired in that department, that's why they get thrown out.  It's something you have to expect and have to deal with.

If a hen is having problems you can usually tell quite easily as it will be all mopsey and not join in the scrum.  Or be going back and to the nest box, agitated.  Keep an eye on their vents. Occasionally you can get a softshell or even a broken thin shell that they can't expell.  You can very, very, gently pull it out for them. If yours are behaving normally, then don't worry.  It's just one of those things.  But do adjust the diet, it's for their own good.

Grit is for digestion, but it's also good for them to have fine oyster shell which will help with calcium.  As with grit, they should have access to this all the time.

Dont worry, just enjoy them :D

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newatthis

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Re: Soft Shells - Shell Max Booster
« Reply #33 on: July 09, 2010, 13:37 »
can i ask a quick question, i have 1 hen that just started to lay, she has been laying for about a couple weeks now but has now started to lay thin shelled eggs but not even making the nest box, the other night i was giving them their corn just a few hand fulls before bed time and after the hand eaten and had their little tiffs over what was left, the hen just droped her egg??? about 9ish is this normal, my lot get layers in the day and in the evening just get a hand full of corn , they do get greens about 3 times aweek or do they need them more?, i have read that they can have cod liver oil, could i mix this with the corn that i (throw on the floor, due to 1 very bossy girl wount left anyone esle near the dish if put on the floor) thankyou ,
sorry the question is a long 1
zoe pattinson :)

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hillfooter

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Re: Soft Shells - Shell Max Booster
« Reply #34 on: July 10, 2010, 12:45 »
can i ask a quick question, i have 1 hen that just started to lay, she has been laying for about a couple weeks now but has now started to lay thin shelled eggs but not even making the nest box, the other night i was giving them their corn just a few hand fulls before bed time and after the hand eaten and had their little tiffs over what was left, the hen just droped her egg??? about 9ish is this normal, my lot get layers in the day and in the evening just get a hand full of corn , they do get greens about 3 times aweek or do they need them more?, i have read that they can have cod liver oil, could i mix this with the corn that i (throw on the floor, due to 1 very bossy girl wount left anyone esle near the dish if put on the floor) thankyou ,
sorry the question is a long 1

I think the weather isn't helping at the moment.  Being really hot they pant a lot and expell a lot of carbon dioxide I believe I read somewhere.  Also they drink and excrete a lot more water.  So it's possible that their blood chemistry is disturbed.  You can help by making sure they have lots of shade and ventilation in their houses cool clean water and it's worth considering a hydrating drink in really hot weather.  It is not unusual for birds to expell more moisture in their dropping s during really hot weather both as a result of increased drinking and it helps to get rid of heat.   ACV encourages drinking so can help or you can make your own electrolyte drink which you can give them for 7 days at a time every 4 weeks during the hot spell.

The below is sufficient for 12 - 15 birds for a day so you can reduce proportionally all ingredients including water for fewer birds.  However The below gives nice easy measures though so you can just make up in 3litres and use over several days too.  

You should work on 200 - 250 ml drink a day per bird.

Dissolve in 3 litres of water

5 ml of Salt substitute, (1 teaspoon of potassium chlorite)
7.5 ml (1 and a half teaspoons) of Bicarbarbonate of soda (baking soda)
15 ml (3 teaspoons) salt


As this is high in salt (each bird will be getting about 1.2 grams of salt a day) so don't use it over a protracted period.   This is also useful for birds who are dehydrated due to enteritis (diarrhoea).

Soft eggs may well be as a result of the heat and they cause the birds discomfort as they are more difficult to transport down the oviduct.  The muscular contractions don't work as well on soft shells. It's perfectly normal for a hen to lay them )or rather drop them) anywhere and they will then usually eat them.   Similarly with thin shelled eggs.

HF


HF
« Last Edit: July 11, 2010, 17:22 by hillfooter »

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Topscaff

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Re: Soft Shells - Shell Max Booster
« Reply #35 on: July 10, 2010, 15:14 »
Broccli, spinach & chickweed are good greens for calcium I give these to my cage birds druing the breeding season.
Mike Rixon



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