[peachesandclive]

I have just got a new hen. And every day so far (since last Wednesday morning) she's laid 2 eggs.

Some of the eggs have had soft shells. Yesterday they were both hard, today they were both soft. The routine is:

At about 8pm the 3 hens go into their house to roost - defo no eggs in there at bedtime.
At 7am we let them out and find either 1 or 2 eggs in the henhouse. If it's just the one, the hen then comes out and promptly lays another. I say 'lays', she doesn't sit on a nest, an egg just appears in the run, on the lawn or wherever she happens to be - as though it just drops out of her vent. In any case, by 7.30am there are always two eggs.

To add to the weirdness, the 3 hens always eat one of the two eggs (never both).

She appears happy and healthy and hangs out with the others in the garden all day doing their chicken thing. She has unlimited access to layer pellets, corn and whatever she can find in the garden.

They are definitely her eggs, she lays white eggs whereas the other two lay blue and brown respectively.

Any advice on the soft egg situation and/or the 2 egg thing? And are soft eggs ok to eat?

[Vember]

Hi Peaches&clive

Have they got access to oyster shell & grit at all times?

The other thing you can do for soft shelled eggs is add limestone flour to their feed.

They haven't got the sniffles or any cold like symptoms have they??


I shall find a link re limestone flour so you can have a read

be right back




Sarah

[Vember]

Aunt Sally wrote:-

It is just that  But I'd get her some crushed oyster if I were you. They don't digest the harder sea shells (mostly cockle) so well and so don't get so much calcium from them. I use limestone flour too and add a spoonfull of two to their pellets, you can get it from the hores feed suppliers.

Hope that's of some help




Sarah

[kimT]

I don't let my girls have unlimited access to corn as it makes the hens fat they only get it at night before bed.

Oyster shell/ poultry grit needs to be available at all times also you could try some calcivit which you can buy from Pets at Home or ask your vet for some its not expensive.

Good luck and i hope you get shelled eggs very soon.