Soft Shell eggs...don't think it's calcium related...

[FlockinAround]

We have a tiny flock of 3 (they are all just over a year old) and one of them is laying soft shell eggs, on and off for about a month now. No other symptoms of illness that I can detect- poop seems fine, no respiratory distress aside from the occasional sneeze usually when dust bathing- which they've all always done. We have oyster shell in a dish that they do eat. They had always been on a 50/50 mix of layer feed and crumble from the feed store, but I ran out and couldn't get to the feed store at the end of March so I ordered Kalmbach Henhouse Reserve from Chewy because it looked most like the feed store food- they HATED it and didn't eat well for about a week, so I gave it to a neighbor and got the feed store food back. That was right around when the soft shell eggs started appearing, so I feel like it may be related but maybe not. I believe it's my Wyndotte but not 100% sure. It's not every egg, it's like one every couple of eggs. We do not have a vet that sees chickens here so I am wondering what I can do to better dx the problem. I am wondering if there is not a bigger underlying issue because I don't think it's calcium. I know there are mail-in fecal test kits for worms and parasites- would something like that be a good idea? Could parasites cause SS eggs? I worry from googling that it could be IB or Newcastle or Salmonella because those were all the things that came up when searching soft shell eggs- is it possible to test for those from home?

 

[Eggcessive]

Do you have free choice crushed oyster shell available in a separate container from food? They sell small bags of it nowadays. That can be good to have in the future because they should eat what they need. If you can get calcium citrate with D3 300 mg or Tums, give that daily into the beak for a week, just to test if it is a calcium issue or not. She may have salpingitis or inflammation of her oviduct. The shell gland in the oviduct could be a problem. If your vet would let you bring in a fresh sample of droppings, they could do a fecal float to look for worms or other parasites. So will. If a dog or cat needs vaccines or checkup, I would take a sample with me and ask for a favor. Many folks just go ahead and worm their chickens once or twice a year with Valbazen 1/2 ml given orally once and repeated in 10 days. Or use SafeGuard liquid goat wormer 1/4 per pound given orally for 5 days. Or give it once and again in 10 days for just roundworms. If she has a shell gland problem, there may not be much you could do, short of having a vet give her a hormone implant to stop her from laying.

 

[FlockinAround]

Do you have free choice crushed oyster shell available in a separate container from food? They sell small bags of it nowadays. That can be good to have in the future because they should eat what they need. If you can get calcium citrate with D3 300 mg or Tums, give that daily into the beak for a week, just to test if it is a calcium issue or not. She may have salpingitis or inflammation of her oviduct. The shell gland in the oviduct could be a problem. If your vet would let you bring in a fresh sample of droppings, they could do a fecal float to look for worms or other parasites. So will. If a dog or cat needs vaccines or checkup, I would take a sample with me and ask for a favor. Many folks just go ahead and worm their chickens once or twice a year with Valbazen 1/2 ml given orally once and repeated in 10 days. Or use SafeGuard liquid goat wormer 1/4 per pound given orally for 5 days. Or give it once and again in 10 days for just roundworms. If she has a shell gland problem, there may not be much you could do, short of having a vet give her a hormone implant to stop her from laying.

thank you- we do have free choice crushed oyster shell available to them and they do definitely peck at it/eat it. I'll try the calcium citrate with her, I wish I knew for sure it was that one- I'm guessing right now but pretty sure....none of the vets nearby see chickens and they will not do fecal tests either, it sucks. Total bummer, I'd have to drive over an hour to someone who does. I know there are mail in test kits but don't know what website to order from, will be doing some research on that today!