[hunt the eggs]

Hello.  I'm new to the forum and very pleased to know it's here.
We have 6 chickens - 2 Warrens, 2 Ambers and 2 black and whites which arrived last June when they were 17weeks old.  They have all been great layers but for the last two days one of the eggs has been thin shelled. I will be crushing the egg shells and adding this to their organic layers pellets from now on, adding cider vinegar to the water and be looking for poultry grit and crushed oyster shells when I can find some.  Any better ideas?
Also all the hens have lost feathers to a greater or lesser around their rear ends. It doesn't seem to worry them at all.  The rest of their feathers are glossy and healthy looking and they feed and lay well.  Could the condition be due to their habit of spending the night in the nesting boxes (very difficult to prevent) sitting in shredded newspaper. One or two of them do this (there are only 2 boxes) and the rest perch seemingly in rotation ie first into the boxes gets to spend the night there! I have read that it is just seasonal moulting but it has gone on for some considerable time.
Just out of interest does anyone else give their hens spaghetti mixed with flax seed (for omega oils) cooked in the microwave? They love it!
Comments welcome 

[chooknewbie]

Hiya HTE,

First and foremost welcome to the forums, you are gonna get lots of helpful advice from the far cleverer folks than me...they will be along shortly... normally like buses... you wait a while for one, and then e turn up at once!!

secondly...pictures...the law around here..   

Where abouts are you? if you stick your location in on your profile then it gives people a better idea how to help you out... may sound strange but it works, honest.

oyster shell and limestone flour are great for helping with soft shells... horsey places normally have the limestone flour in. If you have a jolleys near you, you will get the oyster shell there.

so far as feathers round bums... have you seen any of them picking at each other at all? plucking feathers?

[andreadon]

the bare bottoms could be down to them sleeping in their own poo.
the ammonia will burn the feathers away, but there's not really a lot you can do to stop them - you could try lifting them onto the perch about half an hour after it's properly dark. they're less likely to go back when they're fast on.

if it's smooth down there, it'll be that - the picking at each other's feathers will make them look like they've been plucked and usually will be bitty in which feathers have gone

[mrs.ploppy]

some of my best layers have bold bums and the skin is quite red/pink but this is because they are in full lay and are being covered by the cock bird all the time.  The ones that don't seem to lay each day like my Orpingtons, have a fuller feathered bums.  Unless there is evidence of red mite or lice I should not worry too much as they will come back with the molt.  If you have seen them pecking the feathers thats a different matter.

[hunt the eggs]

some of my best layers have bold bums and the skin is quite red/pink but this is because they are in full lay and are being covered by the cock bird all the time.  The ones that don't seem to lay each day like my Orpingtons, have a fuller feathered bums.  Unless there is evidence of red mite or lice I should not worry too much as they will come back with the molt.  If you have seen them pecking the feathers thats a different matter.

They are in full lay but there is no cock bird. Thanks for all the information.