The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Poultry & Waterfowl => Topic started by: jacob and Georgina on August 25, 2010, 09:09:18 pm
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my hens have recently been laying lots of eggs with a very soft or no shell which i think is treatable with oyster shell added to their food, is this correct?
secondly the number of eggs has been decreasing slowly and now we are only getting 2 eggs a day from our 6 hens who are just over a year old, i know that they will slow down after their first year but it is not consistantly low for example some days we could get 5 and others just 2.
I have heard people talk about poultry spice has being something you can give them to give them an extra boost, is this the case? i was thinking it must be worth a try even if it doesnt work? they have been wormed and i am sure they are not laying elsewhere!! Any advice would be greatly appreciated!!
This is some stuff i thought of getting for the soft shell problem any good?? http://www.molevalleyfarmers.com/mvf/store/products/net-tex-mineral-powder-with-pro-biotics :chook:
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Yes Poultry Spice and Oyster shell are good. Your hens are probably moulting in which case their egg production will reduce so their bodies can put more effort into growing new feathers.
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that would make sense but these things would help them through it??
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Yes - I always give my birds an extra dose of tonic when they are moulting. Make sure they have regular access to grit as well for their egg shells - you can b uy mixed grit which contains oyster shell.
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I had the same problem and found that the poultry spice worked well. I add it to their grit dish in the hope that they take it in whilst consuming their grit.
I also purchased apple cider tonic which is also good for them.
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Shells need calcium to form. Oyster shell is the most common answer. We've found Limestone Flour to be quite effective too.
The product you've looked at says it is high in limestone and and oyster grit so, on the face of it, should do the trick.
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I use the same, with good results.