Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Poultry and Pets => The Hen House => Topic started by: tallgingerbloke on January 05, 2013, 09:52
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Hi
One of my chickens who has been laying well for 2 months (she is still young) has started laying eggs without shells or with a very thin skin for a few days. I actually saw it happen so I am confident about that.
What worries me more is that she is not eating and is keeping a very low profile so obviously not feeling good. She is drinking water.
I have tried her with some warm mash but not interested.
They always have access to grit and pellets. One admission is that over Christmas they have had a few more treats but nothing excessive ( I thought !)
Any advice would be gracefully received.
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Some hens seem to be prone to softies, I have one like that. Make sure they also have access to crushed oyster shells at all times to help shell production. Check her for any other problems like impacked or sour crop. Fell her abdomen in case she is egg bound. A warm bath is good to help her relax and sometime helps them to pass a softie. Lightly towel dry and finish with a haridryer set to low heat.
If your hens haven't been wormed using flubenvet for a while do that asap. Check for lice on her and red mite in the coop. If she is the lowest in the pecking order she might be finding it hard to get her fair share so have a few feeders and drinkers spaced out.
Let us know how you get on. :blink:
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Hi
Thanks for the advice, she is a lot better now. A couple of days of warm mash, a few very dodgy looking eggs and she is back to normal.
Seems like she just managed to work through it herself....clever girl
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Laying soft/no-shelled eggs takes it out of them it is hard work. :)