The info is essential if you want good advice so don't worry about waffle. 14 months isn't old but they are ex batts so such problems are only too common. Here's some info I recently sent to friend which maybe useful.
"Poor egg shell quality and even soft eggs is not an uncommon problem and it can occur as a transitory condition due to some shock or trauma and it will recover naturally after a couple of weeks. However as your hens get older poor eggshell quality often occurs as older hens don’t synthesise calcium as well as younger hens they are also likely to be challenged by many more infections which effect eggshell quality than younger birds. Realistically you can expect a hybrid like a Warren to produce an egg a day in her first season and a small 15% - 20% drop off in the second (after her first major moult). Thereafter the output can fall to 50% in the third year and in subsequent years production is very much dependant on an individual’s health. A hybrid over 3 years would be reckoned to be knocking on a bit and a life expectancy of 4 – 6 years might be expected though I have had pure breed hens make it to 10 years. Pure breeds are much less productive than hybrids initially but if they maintain their health they tend to lay later into their life and have increased life expectancy.
Apart from increasing age the causes of poor egg shell quality are listed below
1
Poor nutrition – It is essential to feed layers on a good quality layers pellet as a basic staple diet and this can be supplemented with a handful of poultry corn in an evening. Treats and household scraps must be strictly limited to no more than 5% of the feed bulk. Especially high energy food needs to be only given infrequently and in moderation eg such as pasta or protein (no cat food) or any processed food. All treats and scraps should be fed in an evening otherwise the birds will bulk up on these and not have the balanced diet a layers pellet is formulated for. Clean daily fresh water in continuous supply should be given.
2
Calcium deficiency – also Vit D3 is required to facilitate calcium absorption. Check for other signs of Vit D deficiency before using a supplement as good quality layers should provide enough Vit D and calcium. See
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/publications/1/egg-quality-handbook/6/the-importance-of-calcium-and-vitamin-d3 though this is a bit of a plug for a supplement. Increasing calcium by using, for example, limestone flour in the feed rather than oyster shell available adlib can help. I wouldn’t use this long term (more than 2weeks continuous) as excess calcium is also not good for their health either. Sources of Vit D3 are sunshine, cod liver oil (don’t overdo), oily fish such as tuna (in brine).
3
Check for signs of an illness, Wheezy, rattly breathing, sneezing, snick, discharge from eyes or nose, bubbly eyes, general depression tail or wings down and inactive behaviour or lack of alertness. Infectious Bronchitis (IB) is a disease which often affects older birds and causes thin and misshapen eggs with ridges and wrinkles and is not treatable though a/bs can control secondary infections. Breathing or “cold” type symptoms will need an antibiotic prescription from a vet (Tylan or Baytril are effective against a broad range of upper respiratory infections).
Using an electrolyte drink made as follows can help in cases of IB and provides added sodium in case of a salt deficiency.
Add to 3 litres of water,
I teaspoon (5ml) salt substitute (potassium chlorite)
1.5 teaspoosn (7.5ml) baking soda (bicarbonate of soda)
3 teaspoons (15ml) common salt
Put out 0.4 litres a day (for two hens) saving rest in the fridge and use exclusively as a drink for 7 days only.
4
Check for parasites. If you have never or infrequently wormed then get some Flubenvet, which is safe and very effective against most types of worm (ignore Verm X or other “natural” herbal wormers which don’t work). Flubenvet is available on the web and has no egg withdrawal requirement. Fleas, lice and Northern Fowl mite can be treated with Frontline or Ivermectin 0.8% spot on. Red Mite a common summer visitor which infests houses and feeds on the chx at night. They can be difficult to eradicate without the use of an insecticide and their control is a major topic in itself. These are so common in the summer you can pretty much bank on having them unless you take measures to control them. A major infestation can make the birds anaemic and look in poor condition (ruffled untidy, missing feathers).
5
Falling daylight length, below 14hrs, slows egg production and generally you can expect poor yields and quality issues at this time of year.
6
Many other infections cause egg production drops and thin shells and are too numerous to mention but the above cover the more likely causes.
You will no doubt be advised to try all sorts of quack supplements and old wives remedies like apple cider vinegar in their drink, crushed garlic and Lifeguard (a much plugged poultry tonic). There’s no evidence that these do any good though you could try adding a multivitamin to their drink, there’s a Pig and Poultry one I use which is available in a sachet which lasts a long time and doesn’t cost much which you can get from farmers stores see attached photo"
Also see
http://chat.allotment-garden.org/index.php?topic=65713.msg750649#msg750649Which was more specifically about Ex batts.
Best of luck
HF
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July 12, 2014, 11:44