Paper thin shelled eggs....

Posted by Carrie on June 28, 2011 at 6:14pm

As it has been getting hotter, my girls egg shells have been getting thinner??? This is the first summer they have been laying, but all Fall & Winter...no problem.  Is it just the heat or something else?  When I first noticed it I put out  oyster shell. Are the chunks supposed to be so big? I have MannaPro Oyster Shell for Pullets??  Today's eggs fell apart in my hands :( Girls have misters, fans, shade, Layena crumbles, (very fresh and stored inside) Help......

Carrie

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Replies

  • Carrie June 30, 2011 at 11:32am
    Thanks for all of the replies. I will try baking and adding back shell. I am concerned because so many folks say if you're feeding a good layer crumble, this should not happen?? I was wondering if the heat in particular exacerbated this?
    • Sheri Schmeckpeper > Carrie June 30, 2011 at 12:38pm
      The heat can cause the hens to utilize the calcium less efficiently. So a combo of additional calcium and efforts to reduce heat in their environment should work. Be sure they have lots of shade, a breeze if possible (a fan can help), and plenty of water. If you want, give them frozen bottles filled with ice and/or a baby pool to stand in.

      Read the recent discussion about chickens and heat. There are a lot of good ideas in there. Let us know how it goes!
  • Sheri Schmeckpeper June 28, 2011 at 10:17pm

    It sounds very much like a calcium deficiency. We put out the oyster shells, too, but our girls pretty much ignore them. Like Karen said, they're probably getting calcium from the shell dust.

    We also give them eggshells. We save the eggshells from the eggs we use, bake them, and then grind them. I mix some with their food every day, and they are eating it better than the oyster shells because the pieces are smaller. You always want to bake them to remove the fresh egg taste because you don't want your chickens to acquire the taste for eggs.

     

  • Karen Dawson June 28, 2011 at 7:55pm
    Probably the heat.  We had that problem about a month ago.  We started mixing the oyster shell into their food, so the pellets would get coated in the dust at least.  No problems since.
  • Meg Levinson June 28, 2011 at 7:18pm
    I read somewhere that it could be a vitamin deficiency.  B vitamins.  Someone else help flesh this out for me?
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