The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: charb73 on April 09, 2014, 09:26:34 pm
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I've had four POL hybrid hens for over a month now and all seem really happy and settled in their new very free range surroundings but I am only getting 3 eggs a day and I have had about 5 shell-less eggs over the past 2 or so weeks.
how do I work out which hen it is and do I need to be concerned that one hen is unwell or is it just taking her longer to get the gist of laying?
Please help I am baffled and have not experienced this before with my girls in the past?
Advice and tips please?
Charlotte
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I guess the only way to find out would be to isolate them one hen at a time and wait for them to lay an egg. Meantime make sure they have mixed grit available and cut out wheat or mixed corn in favour of layers pellets. Hopefully it'll all resolve soon.
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Try food dye gel around the vent Charb73. Someone used it on another forum with success. Blue streaks on a soft shelled egg they had.
But they might not lay every day. So two may be laying every two days at the moment, or all of them may be taking over a day. They should settle down soon, but sometimes a hen never lays at all -we have one. You could try checking the size of the vents and the distance between the pelvic bones. The bones move further apart as they come into lay, from one finger width to two or three.
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three out of four i would say is normal, if you think they lay an average of 300 per year, regarding the soft shell, are you putting enough grit or oyster shell in with the food, or at least scattered around the run,
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Thank you for advice. I haven't been putting grit out all the time so will resume that and I like the idea of food colouring too. They are on layers pellets so thanks
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Is it necessarily one hen that has laid all the eggs that are without a shell? It could be that all of the hens have laid one as they came into lay.
Keep a supply of grit but I wouldn't be too concerned yet. My father has a new batch of pullets and is also having soft eggs. Will hopefully settle soon. Don't think it is that unusual in pullets.
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My bantam are all POL and I've had several soft shelled eggs(just membranes really). Mine have constant ad hoc access to grit and arevon a layers/corn mix. Maybe it's just an occasional thing when pulleys come into lay?? Mine also have veg scraps, fruit etc and seem very healthy otherwise. Fingers crossed it will resolve itself :fc: