My husband finally got around to building a coop with some nice nest boxes, he started Friday, hung the nest boxes up and my Americauna hen 'Paninni' hopped up there and laid her very first egg on Saturday! It was kind of small but still perfect. I got my chicks Oct 31, 2008 and so I guess they are about 5 1/2 mths old. I can't wait for my other Americauna to lay her first egg.
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I have a question about soft shell eggs. I have 3 hens (2 Buff Orphingtons and 1 Americauna). They are 6 1/2 months old. We have been getting a soft shelled egg every once in a while from one of the Buffs. The other 2 are consistent layers. What could be the reason/remedy for the soft shelled eggs?
Ewwww! My other Ameracauna finally laid, I though she might be a "he"....but anyway, I went out to the coop and her rear end looked all dirty, I thought she pooped herself somehow. Then I saw in the food dish what looked to be the inside membrane of an egg, you know that "skin" on the inside of the shell? Then I put 2 and 2 together, she laid her first egg, it was a SOFT SHELL (ewwww) and it must have burst coming out and dirtied her backside. So, I to have now experienced the soft shell egg. It looked gross.
It isn't uncommon for young hens to lay soft-shelled eggs every once in awhile. It's just their systems getting used to laying. It won't hurt to give them oyster shell as a supplement if you're concerned about it. (Just toss a handful to them every once in awhile) In older birds when it happens it's generally a sign of a calcium deficiency. It's one reason that it's important to feed your layers lay pellets not scratch or homemade mixtures (unless you're experienced and know and can achieve the correct balance of nutrients).
My neighbor was only feeding her chickens "grain". I looked in their coop and it looks like she is feeding them just scratch. It's lack of protein that makes the shell soft. That neighbor took all her hens to Pratts just the other day and no longer has them. Maybe she didn't want to deal with them during the summer, who knows. What are you feeding your hens?
The shell seems REALLY thick on it. I haven't cracked it open yet, I almost don't want to! It's definitely obvious the quality difference from a store bought egg. It's such a lovely shade of green. I plan on posting a pic of it when I get home. I can't wait for my other Americauna and my RIR & Black Sex Link to start laying. This one egg looks so lonely in the egg carton. :-)
Way to go, both of you, or should I say, all of you? The eggs start out small but they get bigger - you should see the B-52s my 2-year old Americaunas and Leghorn lay. :o)
I have 4 - 8 week old chicks, 2 of them are Americaunas & I can't wait for that first egg too! Maybe instead of cracking the egg, you could poke holes in it top & bottom & blow it out...then you could save it (I'm pretty sentimental).
How did eveyone's "girls" do in the heat today?
I have my "girls" in the shade all day except for some free ranging early a.m.
I thought about blowing it out! She laid another egg yesterday. This time down in the dirt of the coop. Maybe her rear end was hanging over the edge of the nest box and it landed down there. I posted pictures of all my girls and the 2 eggs on my page.
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Thanks in advance:)
How did eveyone's "girls" do in the heat today?
I have my "girls" in the shade all day except for some free ranging early a.m.