Papery Shell Eggs

Christine · **Joined:** Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:51 pm **Posts:** 4

Hi There
just wondered what else could be causing one of our girls to lay very papery eggs (not all the time) but have now had two or three this week, they are just paper and don't hold their shape. We give her plenty of shell grit and calcium supplement and her feed has not changed which consists of scratch mix, laying pellets, fresh veg corn etc. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. She seems very healthy apart from this and has a great appetite. My husband and I are still learning.............

Thanks
Christine

Chook kid · **Posted:** Fri Oct 02, 2009 8:36 am

she might not be putting the shell on the egg possibly

troppogirl · **Joined:** Fri Oct 02, 2009 7:02 pm **Posts:** 11

You need to give them more calcium, you can buy it and mix it in their water or feed them shell grit. Another good idea is to boil any eggs you don't want and feed them to the chooks {without the shell}

bunty · **Joined:** Sat Oct 03, 2009 6:10 am **Posts:** 1

I had the same problem and got Aristopet Avi Cal Calcium Supplement for Birds fixed the problem. You can buy it on ebay
http://shop.ebay.com.au/?_from=R40&_trk ... Categories

oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

serious question time now folks

how old are these girls
how long have they been laying [since they started this time if older birds]
as you CLEARLY stated they are on calcium this may not be the problem
how much corn are they getting each day [too much is not good coming into summer]
more questions later if needs be

possible answer =
IF she has been laying for a few months she may be getting ready to go broody = when a hen is getting ready to sit on eggs she will start to randomly lay thin shelled eggs then production will drop sharply over a week or so then she will sit in her nesting box most of the day and get mildly agressive when you go near her. when she is snappy and defiantly agressive = you have a broody = put fertile eggs under her close her in so no other birds can get in and lay eggs in there OR harm her - give her a small container of feed and one of water within easy reach and leave her alone she knows what to do

they also lay thin shelled eggs when getting ready to moult [usually towards the middle of Autumn] as the calcium gets transferred to making new strong feathers

of course there are always reasons why these thin shelled eggs are laid - but rule out broody first = you will know soon enough

Christine · **Joined:** Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:51 pm **Posts:** 4

Hi soozorps - thanks for your input

We are still trying to establish which chook is doing the papery eggs, another one this morning, but the other chook is on the nest laying, as I am home today, I should be able to tell which chook it is.

The girls are 18 months old and have been fabulous layers for about 12 months. They receive all the normal chook food I mentioned earlier and usually one corn cob a day between the two of them. Recently they have been getting more as they seem to be absolutely starving, they free range over quite a large backyard.

Any other advice appreciated.

Cheers

Chris

oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

One thing I forgot to ask

What breed are we talking abt?

Christine · **Joined:** Wed Sep 30, 2009 12:51 pm **Posts:** 4

Hi again

they are Isa Browns - we have two one of which always lays first so I am fairly sure it is the other hen that is not laying properly. Yesterday morning, I found the papery egg and then she was all fluffed up sitting on the other hen's egg, not sitting as though she was going to lay, but had it all snuggled up under her chest, so I guess she is the broodie one.

We are concerned that one of the papery eggs may get caught up inside and result in egg peritonitis - is this possible?

Will she get over her broodiness by herself or does she need some fertilized eggs to sit on and if so and hatches the chicks, will they be safe from the other hen. We also have two more young hens 14 week old Rhode Island Red and Australorp who are in a separate pen as they were bullied at first by the broody hen, but they will be coming into the free range area in the next few weeks when they are bigger.

Anyway, any advice greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Chris

oozcorpse · **Joined:** Sun Nov 04, 2007 8:15 am **Posts:** 2715

Isa Brown are purpose bred to only be effective layers for the first season then egg production drops markedly after that - they were bred as commercial egg layers not for the backyard as such - [and most are sold after this first season when they are no longer economically viable for the egg market]

but we may have the answer - she is potentially going broody
once she is well settled and refusing to come off the nest and is agressive and pecks to protect the nest =
you can get some fertile eggs [I recommend a good pure breed in preference then you get birds that produce moderate sized eggs but over a period of years] you will have to isolate her from the other hen and younger birds while she is sitting and then raising the young allowing them to see each other through mesh so they 'stay in touch' and remove the mesh once the chicks are big enough to go into the 'flock' [16 weeks is the preferred minimum age]

or you can give her an Aspro to reduce her body temperature to get her out of being broody - break it in half and pop it straight down her throat
I recommend the chicks though - the Aspro doesnt always work and some chooks are allergic = you only find out after the fact

AUSTRALIAN POULTRY FORUM™

Papery Shell Eggs

Who is on the Forum