Chicken advice

[agusta]

Over the last 5-6 days I've been having all sorts of issues with their eggs, anyway I've manage to sort 3/4 hens.

The problem hen now lays (if at all) in the evening (9-10pm) outside the coop/nest box, last night she laid an egg without a shell but with a thin membrane.

 

They have oyster shell on tap, clean water, coop is cleared every day.

 

Any ideas whats going on here?

[Wookie]

The thin shell seems to suggest lack of grit, but if there is oyster shell there, that should not be a problem. I don't know what to suggest about the laying late and outside... Maybe being bullied by the other hens? Has she got any feathers missing?

 

Imperfection knows a fair bit about chickens, so he might be able to shed some light for you.

[Stamford]

I havent put oyster shell or grit in our coop for over 6 months, shells have been very good

[whiskymac]

Has the hen just reached point of lay?

I've had them do this just as they start to get age enough to lay eggs. Otherwise maybe try some different grit; personally I always crush up my old shells and put them back out for the hens as grit.......but then I'm too tight to actually buy any grit. For some reason she might not like the oyster grit, though I've not seen a problem with that myself.

[agusta]

She is the dominant hen so definitely not being bullied and no feathers missing, I've fenced half an acre for them so free ranged.

 

I got her in May last year, started laying in June/July so she should be at the peak of egg production.

[holly]

[quote name='whiskymac' I always crush up my old shells and put them back out for the hens as grit..

/

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[jasper3]

I had this problem in the past, I had grit and oyster shell in the Run, but Every now and then i would get a egg with no shell or a very small egg

I asked a chicken farmer

 

now !!! I don't know if he was pulling my leg at the time , but he said.... Inside the chickens are a line of eggs growing and when they are ready the egg gets laid..sometimes a egg will overtake another and come out either small (very small) or without a shell

 

he did mention about the grit and Oyster shell but said that is mainly used by the chicken to break up the corn and pellets before digesting ..

and he did say it helps towards making a stronger shell

 

I also use a tonic called Life guard in their water....

 

another thing that can effect laying is Rats... my girls stopped laying and I noticed the side sliding door was being opened at night...

I waited one night to see what was happening........ didn't have to wait long

 

just as it was getting dark a couple of Rats appeared ..they got through the chicken wire (half the size of the rats) then shimmied up a pole to the sliding door, one got on his hind legs and pushed the door across within the next 10 minutes I counted another 12 rats (14 in all)

 

next night I waited with my air riffle...shot 12 rats then got another 4 two nights later.... soon after , the girls started laying again

 

jasp

[Imperfection]

Over the last 5-6 days I've been having all sorts of issues with their eggs, anyway I've manage to sort 3/4 hens.

The problem hen now lays (if at all) in the evening (9-10pm) outside the coop/nest box, last night she laid an egg without a shell but with a thin membrane.

 

They have oyster shell on tap, clean water, coop is cleared every day.

 

Any ideas whats going on here?

 

What she's laying is called a 'softee' and is quite common with hens which have just recently come into lay (although yours isnt) and sometimes do it occasionally for first few weeks.Most off the shelf poultry feeds contain enough calcium for the hens to produce thick shells,but i always have a seperate bowl full of crushed grit/oyster shells for them as a preventative measure.The biggest problem with softees is that a chicken can have a prolapse laying them because they're trying to push something which isnt solid and basically their inards end up hanging out of their vent-which can be fatal.If this happens you have to hold her vent over the steam of a kettle (not so close it scolds) and everso gently tuck it all back in.

 

What brand of food are you buying? I use Dodson and Horrels layers mash.I know its more messy than pellets,but in my experience chickens prefer eating mash.BOCM Pauls (Farmgate) layers mash is also a really good feed which is a lot more grainy than others and mine go mad for this,but its harder to get hold of.Normally,its the feed or the brand which is the cause of softees so look at that first.

 

 

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Edited May 25, 2010 by Imperfection

[agusta]

Thanks for all the suggestions

 

I've had 100% egg production over the last 2 days, maybe it was the heat as its cooled now ??

 

They are fed on small holder layer pellets (have been for 8+ months).

[death from below]

I can't help but ......

 

Why did the chicken cross the road......

 

To get away from the chicken sha****