[redjane11]

Chicken is still laying soft eggs, so soft that they break before they even layed. so much calcium going into them, no different to them,  think i am going to get rid and get some new one's

[Aunt Sally]

Hi Jane,

I've just caught up with this post.  Can you tell us a bit about Chicken please.

How old is she

What breed

How long has she been laying soft eggs

Does she seem well otherwise

What is she eating

What supliments have you given her to try to harden the shells.


We'll see what we can sugest  

[redjane11]

she is approx year old , got her last year as a point of lay. was laying fine untill approx Christmas. she just a ordinery red chicken , quite small. drinks fine, eats well fed on layers pellets morning and mixed grain afternoon, plenty of grit and loads of oyster shell, have also wormed her just in case, have also tried a conditioning powder that was given as a free sample but cany remember the name, also free ranges in the field so plenty of green as well, have seen her lay these soft eggs, they are actually broken as she lays them.
Have also got an old girl, not sure how old, she is laying when she feels like it, shells were soft but now strong, but the whites are cloudy and thick but have put this down to her age.  i know they are getting the oyster as i have mixed it into bread and milk which they love just to make sure

[redjane11]

Just waiting for Aunt Sally to come on line.  Broken egg again very soft shell like paper

[peggyprice]

This sounds exactly like our egg eating Warren, Dorothy - shells feel almost like tissue paper.... looking forward to seeing what advice Aunt Sally et al come up with :?

[redjane11]

just looking to see if Aunt Sally has been back,   must be busy

[Aunt Sally]

Soft shelled eggs:  You have to get more calcium into the birds and over a longer period of time.

Hens use a lot of calcium to lay an egg every day.  Unless the only source of food is their layers pellets then they won't be getting enough while free ranging.  For calcium to be absorbed in the gut the hens need Vitamin D which they get from preening the oil off their feathers.  Vit D is made in the feather oil by the action of sunlight.  At this time of the year the hens have been through a prolonged period of dull weather through the winter and the spring has not been very sunny so if my hens were laying soft shelled or thin shelled eggs I'd increase their calcium and ensure they have extra vitamin D in their diet.

For a source of extra calcium I give crushed oyster shell, on offer all the time and Limestone flour (from the horsey shop) which I add to their pellets - it coats them quite easily.  I would also add a few drops of cod liver oil to a treat for them a couple of time a week to give some extra Vitamin D.

Don't expect them to improve immediately,  calcium for eggs is taken from the hens bones so you have to get it into their bones first.

Most egg eating begins when a thin shelled egg accidentally breaks and provides the girls with a free treat   YUM  

[peggyprice]

Thanks Aunt Sally - that makes a lot of sense, in my case anyway.  When my girls arrived a fortnight ago Dorothy was looking a bit scruffy, to say the least - she's perked up a lot just in the last two weeks, but presumably she may be a bit short on the calcium front & as you say, that will take longer to restore itself.  Probably not helped by the fact that for the first few days they had to put up with budgie grade grit rather than poultry grade ...

Mine already have oyster shell mixed with their grit, would you suggest putting some more out separately?

Will go to chemist tomorrow for cod liver oil & will have to find a local horsey shop for the limestone!!

[redjane11]

they have oyster shell available at all times, have even been putting into treats to make sure they are eating it, have also been giving them the oil so they are having everthing that has been suggested. we are seriously considering getting rid of them for new as at the moment i have 2 chickens and having to buy eggs which is silly

[redjane11]

No, its only one of them, the old girl layes when she feels like it and she now has nice hard shells. she hasn't layed for approx a week, soft shell layer layes nearly every day

[redjane11]

oohh. Aunt Sally your last post has disapeared

[Aunt Sally]

I deleted it coz I went back over the topic and found the answer there already  :roll:

[redjane11]

Think she may have everybody stumped.

[Aunt Sally]

I'd stop them free ranging for two or three weeks and make them eat just layers with some extra limestone flour added. Maybe a drop of cod liver oil a couple of time a week on a tiny piece of bread and see if it makes a difference.   If it doesn't then you'll know its not fixable.

[redjane11]

ok will try that. just got to get some limestone flour, should be easy enough