Weird egg laying issues

[three_grannies]

Hello!

A little background: I have a 1 year old Swedish flower hen that is laying large, thin shelled white eggs that break easily. The hens have access to layer feed throughout the day and have flaked oyster shell available to eat whenever. None of the other hens are having laying issues. I started giving her a powdered calcium supplement once a week and this has helped a bit with the thin eggs.

2 days ago, she developed a new issue. My hen laid 2 eggs overnight while roosting: 1 egg was normal for her and the other egg appeared to be shell-less (that broke when it hit the litter tray). Several times that day I found her in the nesting box, but the second time I noticed she had pushed out a piece of soft shell. I took her to the vet to be safe on Weds, and he examined her and was able to pull out a big piece of soft shell. He wasn’t worried about infection and said to just keep an eye on her.

She is acting 100% normal and eating and drinking. I started giving her a crushed up calcium citrate and vitamin d supplement since this happened. My current concern is that she is sitting in the nesting box for about an hour once a day, and isn’t laying an egg. I haven’t seen any more pieces of shell. Is there a problem I should be watching for? Or should I be more proactive in preventing further issues beyond what I’m currently doing?

Thank you!!

 

[Tookie]

What I'd do is get some calcium citrate tablets with D3 in it, with at least 500mg of calcium, and give one tablet once a day for a few weeks and see how she is then. Just pop the tablet right into her mouth and she'll swallow it.
If there's no improvement by then it may be something that cannot be resolved.

 

[Tonyroo]

Besides the calcium supplement your giving, up her protein intake.

 

[three_grannies]

What I'd do is get some calcium citrate tablets with D3 in it, with at least 500mg of calcium, and give one tablet once a day for a few weeks and see how she is then. Just pop the tablet right into her mouth and she'll swallow it.
If there's no improvement by then it may be something that cannot be resolved.

Thank you! I was able to give her the tablet as you instructed. She seems a bit low energy today and is laying down more. She hasn't laid an egg since Weds. She is pooping, but it seems to be a bit eggy. I'm concerned about egg yolk peritonitis. I gave her an Epson salt bath and gave her some Nutri-drench. Besides getting her in to see a vet, any other suggestions?

 

[Tookie]

She seems a bit low energy today and is laying down more.

Often times they'll have trouble laying a shell-less egg and can cause that behavior.

She hasn't laid an egg since Weds. She is pooping, but it seems to be a bit eggy. I'm concerned about egg yolk peritonitis.

Hmm, if she has another eggy looking poop like that try and grab a picture.
If she had EYP I believe she wouldn't be laying at all, which she is and that would mean she doesn't have that.

I gave her an Epson salt bath and gave her some Nutri-drench. Besides getting her in to see a vet, any other suggestions?

I don't have any other suggestions, what you're doing so far I think is alright.

Oh, as @Tonyroo said, up her protein intake.

 

[gunnermccaw]

Often times they'll have trouble laying a shell-less egg and can cause that behavior.

Hmm, if she has another eggy looking poop like that try and grab a picture.
If she had EYP I believe she wouldn't be laying at all, which she is and that would mean she doesn't have that.

I don't have any other suggestions, what you're doing so far I think is alright.

Oh, as @Tonyroo said, up her protein intake.

How do we up the protein when eating pellet feed?

 

[Tookie]

How do we up the protein when eating pellet feed?

Feeding extra things that's not their usual feed, such as meat and eggs.

 

[EuroChook]

Thin egg shells or eggs with no shell is most often a calcium or phosphorus issue, in the absence of other things. If she is double laying this will dramatically impact on her calcium stores. Listlessness is also a sign of calcium deficiency (or other things). If you weigh a normal Swedish Flower egg shell, it will contain around 5g of calcium. Hence, it is important to enrich your little lady's diet with calcium (and protein for this breed, especially when laying, and if molting), giving them at least that much daily. Even hens that "self-serve" calcium may not be getting enough.
Most layer feed mixes in my opinion do not seem to provide adequate nutrients.

But, bottom line, make sure she is getting 4 to 5g of calcium daily. Like our birds, if it means giving pills, then don't be afraid to do that. Make sure she is having 160mg phosphorus daily. And D3 in the order of 2000iu daily should be a good ball park value to get her eggs back to peak. You should see her pick up and be perky, talkative, interested in self care, all that fun chicken behavior that makes us love them.

Dont be tempted to keep adding calcium though, once you find a peak value for your hen. Some people think more over more makes for better. It won't. Too much calcium or phosphorus and paradoxically absorption of both these elements is reduced, since an over-abundance of these leads to a useless compound in the gut. Moreover, too much calcium will cause kidney damage or even uric acid overload, (symptoms will include listlessness, not talking, perhaps ruffled feathers, standing stock still. Many of these also occur in advanced stages of calcium deficiency). Antidote to uric acid overload is a specific dosage of bicarbonate of soda and water solution.

Be careful to not oversupply D3, which exponentially increases calcium absorption, for then you could hit uric acid overload troubles.

But prevention is better than cure, so good nutrition is the key with emphasis on the laying hens essentials--calcium, D3 and phosphorus.

--I tried to hunt down nutritional requirements information for your breed of hen, but have been unsuccessful. If you are luckier than I am, and if you can find it, then it will give you everything you need to know specific to the Swedish Flower. What a cute breed by the way!

 

[EuroChook]

What I'd do is get some calcium citrate tablets with D3 in it, with at least 500mg of calcium, and give one tablet once a day for a few weeks and see how she is then. Just pop the tablet right into her mouth and she'll swallow it.
If there's no improvement by then it may be something that cannot be resolved.

With my fussy lil ISA Brown it requires "shoving it in" beyond a point (up to my elbow, eek.. feels like it) where my finger tip gets wet sometimes, beyond the hazardous choke point. Same when giving fluid meds via syringe.

 

[EuroChook]

Ammendment: 2000iu per 2.2 lbs feed is efficate. Even though some condone 2000iu daily, (with no reported ill effects), I cannot support that view any longer.

Birds with D deficiency, or deficiencies in calcium and/or phosphorus will require more D.