Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: lmpd on September 06, 2011, 21:06
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Today, one of my ex-bats laid an egg without a shell, it still had the membrane around it - bit like a water bomb. Am I right in thinking that this is nothing to be concerned about???
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She should be ok keep your eye on her she will prob lay again soon.
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My girls used to do that quite regularly, never did work out why but if stopped as quickly as it started.
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Hello lmpd, do your chickens have a good staple diet of layer's pellets or other balanced feed? And do they have crushed oyster shell available to pick at when they want it?
If so, there is probably nothing to worry about with your girl's soft shelled egg. Unfortunately it seems to be one of those things that happens with commercial hybrid hens (especially ex batts).
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Hi Lindeggs, yeah, my girls start the day with a mixture of ex-bat crumbs and pellets then I give them a bit of corn in the afternoon, they have grit which I got from a feed merchant that seems to be mostly crushed shell - don't know if there is any oyster in there though. They also supplement their diet with whatever they come across when I free range them (largely my brassicas, gggrrr)!!!
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It sounds like you're giving them everything they need for a happy and healthy life. :) What lucky girls to have found you.
The shell grit you have is likely to be mostly oyster shell, just because that's what is cheap and available. In fact any shell will do as they are all made of calcium carbonate, bound together with a few proteins.
(My pullets eat a lot of Paua shells. Wouldn't it be nice if their eggs turned out this colour?)
(http://www.reijewellery.co.nz/pauashl2.jpg)
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stunning colours :)