[Flowerpower136]

The saga of Wila continues........

Have been getting crushed calcium tabs down her via her own indiviudally mixed and hand fed portion of mash.... admittedly, not an M*S individual portion of mash...but near enough.

Wilma Fusspot has now decided it's more fun in the scrum, so won't eat it from my hand anymore, though others are quite keen!

So what do I do next?  I need to target just her with calcium tab, but how?

Her absolute favourite food is earth worms.... but don't even go there   Life is too short to stuff a worm

[SusieB]

Crushed tablet and dipped in with a half grape, has never failed for me.  Or if you can't crush the tablet, if you squeeze it in a small grape, mine will swallow the whole lot in one go.  Or squashed in cheese, or fish cat food.

[Foxy]

tbh I would only use calcium tabs as a one off with an egg bound hen, and really an injection in that case would be better.

I would keep on a diet of only pellets/mash and add poultry spice twice a week plus codliver oil and adlib access to good quality oyster shell. The percentage calcium she needs will come from her diet and is a much better form for absorption/retention in the gizzard.

[grumpydad]

maybe a bit of limestone flour mixed with the food ?

[Flowerpower136]

Thanks for all that.

I've got cod liver oil on the shopping list, and intend to add a couple of teaspoons to the afternoon mash perhaps twice a week.  All 8 girls have their share of that.  I understand that it's the vitamin D in this that will help with calcium absorption?  As they are ex batts, would a teaspoon a day for 8 be too much?

Because they are ex batts and prone to soft shells, I've been adding a small scoop of crushed oyster shell in their afternoon mash every single day..... perhaps that's not right??  I thought it was a good way of making sure they all got some.

I've been trying to specifically target Wilma with a calcium tab because she was so poorly last weekend with a broken soft shell having to be pulled out.  And it does seem to be helping.  I'll try the grape trick.

Re limestone flour.  Should I do that as well as above, or instead?  Would I mix it with mash?

Still feel I'm floundering a bit with this?

[grumpydad]

limestone flour is just that a very fine flour made of crushed limestone, will add to anything and mix in

[dizzylizzie]

Hi Flowerpower!, one of my ex-batts lays very strange eggs, sometimes wrinkled, sometimes soft...never, ever looks like they should!. I started seperating her out to give limestone powder/flour, because the others were fine with the ex-batts pellets and the oystershell that is always on offer to them. Basically, i suck half a grape to wet it (yuk i know), drop it in the powder and roll it around so it gets coated, then feed it to her. Her eggs were definatly getting better, but they have all stopped laying for the moment, so that is going to give her (and the others) a good rest! Hopefully she wont lay again, but if she does, she just may well have had enough of an opportunity to build some strength up! Maybe she will stop laying soon, that would be a blessing for the poor thing....you'd think they would be glad to go into retirement wouldnt you? lol 

[Flowerpower136]

Dear Lizzie!  How lovely that you are back.  Where have you been.  I went on hols in Oct, came back, and missed you straight away.

Right, definately getting limestone flour, and the sucked grape trick would work with the crushed calcium tab in the meantime.  Very good tip.  Though I think she's prefer a worm, if I'm honest.

Mine are all still laying, still getting 6/7 eggs a day from 8.  And don't really understand why.  It worries me to be honest, because it can't be good for them.  And some of them are still very very thin, which also worries me, because they could do with a layer of fat to keep warm.

Have knitted 2 chuck sweaters, but as yet, haven't got anyone wearing them.  Part of me feels its really silly, but part of me feels that a few of them really need an extra layer of something in leiu of fat and feathers.

[dizzylizzie]

  thankyou-its good to be back, i missed everyone too
If your girls need the extra layer, they need it, they have been in very hot shed, never experianced winter before- they are your girls, if you feel like they need the chook sweaters use them.....just dont forget to post pictures x