Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: parsleypig on September 29, 2009, 12:57
-
My hens have always been fed layers mash but I tried pellets a few months ago. They loved them but I found their egg shells seemed rough and felt almost like porous stone, if you know what I mean. They got through almost a whole bag before I changed back and the problem has now gone - lovely smooth eggs again. Has this happened to anyone else?
-
NOPE!!!
:) :) :)
We get the occasional rough shell, but usually the eggs our girls lay are quite normal and we only use pellets.
Was it a different brand you used, or your normal brand? Perhaps there was something different in the ingredients???
-
I have just had a look. The pellets were Growers Layers Pellets and the layers mash we use is a local brand Copdock Mill. Could it just be the difference between brands?
-
I definitely notice a difference when I have tried different brands.
Mine get 'feathers and beaky' pellets as a rule and the eggs are great. Sometimes I have to resort to getting another brand from the pet shop round the corner and the eggs are smaller and the shells are very thin.
I gave them mash at first on advice from the BHWT but they made a right mess with it!
-
If they were Growers Pellets..... you have bought the wrong thing :( You should not eat the eggs if they are fed Growers as there is an anti coci thing in them :(
If the make was Growers..... and they were layers pellets, then this would not apply :)
My hens eggs are a bit chalky sometimes.... but they are fed pellets.... so maybe something in it :)
-
if the growers pellets are organic there is no anti cocci in them so even though they should be on layers you can still eat the eggs :)
-
They are definitely layers pellets - the brand is Growers
-
My ex-batts quite often supply me with an egg that isn't smooth but a little bumpy and rough.
I wasn't worried about it - the eggs still taste great - but should I be? Is it meaningful?
They have the ex-batts pellets and mixed grit/oyster shell always available (as well as water obviously, but it seems unlikely that would cause bumpy shells :D) and mixed corn/veg/mealworms as treats...