Help with soft shell eggs

[opie4]

One of our flock is laying mostly soft shell eggs, with the odd ok one.

2 year old light sussex.

Her eggs have always had fairly thin shells but she laid in the nesting box and they were all good.

She has been a great layer, started laying last winter and laid right through the winter we have just finished and is now spring time here.

The other 3 have just started up again after a winter break and she has stopped, going from an egg a day she had a break for a week or so and now it's been 3 soft shells a week and maybe one ok. The soft ones are all under the roosting bars and not in the nesting box so I assume they are coming out overnight.

They are all on layer feed with access to oyster shell. The other 3 in the flock lay eggs that are perfect.

I have always been worried that this would happen eventually to her with her regular shells being weak. Is there any chance this could be temporary and she might bounce back? Maybe laying through winter has taken a toll?

Otherwise I'm not sure what to do with her, we can't have a passenger and the mess of eggs in the coop is an issue too..

Appreciate any thoughts on this...

 

[Debbie292d]

I'm wondering if the oyster shell is too big for them. Some I've found my silkies can't even eat so I bash it up with a hammer.

Ours lay all year even through brutal winters as the coop is kept to 40F, but the only ones I have issues with are new layers and they'll lay a couple with very thin shells, no shells, fairy eggs, etc., but after a few of those, they are normal.

Two years old sounds way too young to be having issues laying eggs. Could she be molting?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Give her a Calcium Citrate +D3 right in her beak every day for five to seven days. Just get the ones for people from the vitamin/supplement section of any grocery store, the ones that say 600 mg.. usually it takes 2 caplets to equal 600 mg but one a day should be sufficient. I usually do this at night while they are on the roost, saves chasing and catching. Just pop open the beak and put it in, they can swallow it no problem.

 

[opie4]

Give her a Calcium Citrate +D3 right in her beak every day for five to seven days. Just get the ones for people from the vitamin/supplement section of any grocery store, the ones that say 600 mg.. usually it takes 2 caplets to equal 600 mg but one a day should be sufficient. I usually do this at night while they are on the roost, saves chasing and catching. Just pop open the beak and put it in, they can swallow it no problem.

I'm not sure I could get it into her beak... can you mix it into something? Or will she taste it and spit out?

 

[BigBlueHen53]

If you don't have a helper, try this: Set her on your lap and wrap her with a towel to bind her wings. Wrap your non-dominant arm around her like a football. Use that hand to pull down on her wattles. That will cause her to open her beak. Holding the pill in your dominant hand, pop the pill into her beak and let her close her beak. She'll swallow it.

It's easier with a helper, then they can hold her while you open her beak with one hand and put the pill in with the other hand, but it really is not that hard. Just remember a chicken can swallow a mouse or frog whole so this pill is no big deal.

I don't really know how it would work to crush it and put it into something she likes, like say, um ... applesauce. I guess you could try it and see.

 

[opie4]

If you don't have a helper, try this: Set her on your lap and wrap her with a towel to bind her wings. Wrap your non-dominant arm around her like a football. Use that hand to pull down on her wattles. That will cause her to open her beak. Holding the pill in your dominant hand, pop the pill into her beak and let her close her beak. She'll swallow it.

It's easier with a helper, then they can hold her while you open her beak with one hand and put the pill in with the other hand, but it really is not that hard. Just remember a chicken can swallow a mouse or frog whole so this pill is no big deal.

I don't really know how it would work to crush it and put it into something she likes, like say, um ... applesauce. I guess you could try it and see.

Thanks, I'll try and grab her and administer it tomorrow. If she squats it will make it easy!

 

[opie4]

I'm wondering if the oyster shell is too big for them. Some I've found my silkies can't even eat so I bash it up with a hammer.

Ours lay all year even through brutal winters as the coop is kept to 40F, but the only ones I have issues with are new layers and they'll lay a couple with very thin shells, no shells, fairy eggs, etc., but after a few of those, they are normal.

Two years old sounds way too young to be having issues laying eggs. Could she be molting?

Not obviously moulting but thinking about it, there is one white feather in the coop so it could be the start of a moult cycle I guess. Strange to do it in spring?

 

[opie4]

If you don't have a helper, try this: Set her on your lap and wrap her with a towel to bind her wings. Wrap your non-dominant arm around her like a football. Use that hand to pull down on her wattles. That will cause her to open her beak. Holding the pill in your dominant hand, pop the pill into her beak and let her close her beak. She'll swallow it.

It's easier with a helper, then they can hold her while you open her beak with one hand and put the pill in with the other hand, but it really is not that hard. Just remember a chicken can swallow a mouse or frog whole so this pill is no big deal.

I don't really know how it would work to crush it and put it into something she likes, like say, um ... applesauce. I guess you could try it and see.

I got her wrapped up and manged to open her beak and pop the pill in. She didn't put up too much if a fight and didn't try to peck me so here's hoping for a good result

 

[BigBlueHen53]

I got her wrapped up and manged to open her beak and pop the pill in. She didn't put up too much if a fight and didn't try to peck me so here's hoping for a good result

Good job! I knew you could!

 

[opie4]

And just to follow up, a couple of hours after the pill went in, she laid an egg in the nesting box. Just a fluke of course, nothing would work that fast!

The soft ones have been overnight so we will see what happens tonight and tomorrow