Problem with a Hen Laying Soft-Shelled Eggs

[Toffael]

I have 8 hens, all around 11 months old, and they’ve been laying perfect eggs—until three weeks ago. Suddenly, one of my black Maran hens started laying eggs with very thin shells. Often, they were cracked or even broken by the time I collected them.

The first day I noticed the problem, I saw that the oyster shell container was empty (it couldn’t have been empty for more than two days). I immediately refilled it with finely crushed oyster shells and also added some cod liver oil to the flock’s feed to help with calcium absorption. But even after these changes, her eggs didn’t improve.

Two days ago, I collected 8 eggs, which made me think she might be back to normal since I have 8 hens. But today, I found only 6 eggs, and one of them wasn’t really an egg at all. It was just an intact yolk sitting in the straw, surrounded by wet gooey whites—no shell whatsoever.

I’ve read that adding Vitamin D3 can help hens absorb calcium better. I already have a human Vitamin D3 supplement in my cabinet (my mum takes it). Can I use this for her? If so, how do I dose it—should I add it to the whole flock’s feed, or does she need to be treated individually? Could giving Vitamin D3 to the whole flock harm the other hens?

And finally, is there anything else I can do to help her get back to laying strong, healthy eggs?

 

[rosemarythyme]

I don't know if things like aspartame and sorbitol are chicken safe, you might have to look up each non active ingredient individually.

General recommendation is calcium citrate tablets (with or without Vit D... you're more concerned about the vitamin D but I'd start with supplementing calcium first), and you only dose the bird you're treating. Chickens can swallow pills quite easily, just pry open their beaks and pop in the pill. You will know within 7-10 days max whether or not it helps. If it does seem to help then you can gradually reduce dosage from once a day to maybe one every 2 days, and if shell quality is still good, one every 3 days, and so on, to find what's the sweet spot for her as far as calcium supplementation. If she stops laying at any point (broody, molt, etc.) then discontinue supplement until she starts up again.

Also one minor change you could try in addition - you don't want finely crushed oyster shell, bigger flakes will stay in their system longer, if they're willing to eat those.

 

[BigBlueHen53]

Citracal or its generic equivalent provides both calcium citrate AND D3, which I have read makes the calcium more readily available in the body, so you'd be treating both issues at the same time. It's available at any grocery or drug store that carries vitamins or supplements.