[shiatsusu]

ok, day 2 of the saga of ren's soft eggs. Yesterday she finally passed an odd soft gooey string with an egg in the centre and 2 lumps either side. I thought she'd have today off, instead she's just laid a normal size single egg but it was soft and the white and yolk came out first. They looked perfect tho. I managed to get the shell out as it had half come out and the rest wasn't budging (carefully and hope to god it all came out- the only missing part seemed to be where the yolk etc had come out and I'm praying that opened rather than broke off as it was soft). I can't find calcium tabs anywhere and wondered if any of you had any suggestions as to where I can get some? I've got her on layers pellets and oyster shell and have added poultry spice to the food and ACV to the water and have cut out all other food, except foraging in the garden- I'm now wondering whether I should keep her in the run for a few days to make sure she's getting the pellets and spice. Is there anything else I can/ should do and is it now just a waiting game while the ca levels build?
Am worried about her  susu.

[kimT]

Boots sell calcium tablets and your local chemist should have some too.

[Aunt Sally]

Give her some bio yogurt, it has phosphorous in it and give her a drop or two of cod liver oil for the vit D3  both are needed for calcium uptake in the gut.  Add about a tablespoonful of limestone flour per Kg pellets - you can get it at horse feed stores.  Any problem finding it send me your address and I'll post you a bit.

Keep her on this until the problem is resolved.

[shiatsusu]

Managed to track ca tabs down in the local health shop and our local feed merchant is sorting me some limestone flour tomorrow- thanks aunt sally and Kim for the offer and advice. I'm just wondering if it's possible that free ranging in the garden has contributed to the soft eggs eg she's not eating the pellets because she's full on other things. The soft eggs have coincided with much more time out in the garden and not in the run.

[treacleminer]

Do you let them free-range as soon as they get up in the morning?
If so it may be worth keeping them in for the first hour or two so she fills up with the pellets before she goes out - You know your Mum always told you to have a good breakfast

[poultrygeist]

That's what we're doing. They don't get to play out until about 2.30/3pm then in again 4/4.30 to wash their hands and have tea, then pyjamas on and bed.

In theory, they should be taking more grit with eating grass and gettign the oyster shell with it.

If you can find any grubs in the garden, save them up as a gourmet treat for them. Must be all sorts of vits in those. Mmmm.

Rob

[Aunt Sally]

Greens including grass contain a lot of calcium as do snails and spiders  

I keep mine in their run until about 10 am to ensure they eat the chicken food but they do pop back in during the day for more.

[poultrygeist]

I only ever find spiders after they've gone to bed 

Had to flick 2 off the nestbox lid the other evening. 

Rob

[shiatsusu]

Presumably the levels of calcium in the grass are pretty low this time of the year. I think they've been filling up on porridge for breakfast then grass immediately after and she's got low on the calcium. My fault  Think I'll keep them in till after lunch, Ren is such a greedy guts she's bound to scoff the pellets if there's nothing else, then i can let them have a couple of hours mooching in the garden in the afternoon. Hopefully in another week or so she'll have recovered her hard shells. Odd that the others are all fine. Blimey! It's worse than having children!

[cathangirl]

I heard rather a kafuffle in the garden this morning - one of the girls had found a froglet,  about an inch and a bit long and they were squabbling over it.  Poor little thing didn't pull apart, so one hen gobbled it down whole.  Yeuk!
cathangirl

[poultrygeist]

Don't ask Aunt sally about hens eating frogs !!!   

[cathangirl]

ummm...why?
cathangirl

[poultrygeist]

She has a photo. Wait there.

[poultrygeist]

   The original thread has been pruned. No longer opens.

I posted this last year...

http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=13799.msg175856#msg175856

But her link doesn't work. Boo.

It was of one of her hens swallowing a frog (big) whole. Hard to believe until you see it. I hoep she comes on and still has the photo to hand.

Rob

[Kate and her Ducks]

Sure that you can get calcium tabs from any chemist but the solution may be in her name.

Rennies (indigestion tablets) are mainly calcium carbonate so maybe that is the way to go!