Grow Your Own Magazine

Hi
I am new to this so first hello to everyone and hoping someone can help. I got my 6 ex battery hens nearly 2 weeks ago and have been lucky enough to get lots of eggs, between 3 and 6 a day. However today one of the girls laid a very nobbly egg and wonder if I am giving too much or not enough grit or something. I am feeding them with layers mash as advised but have also introduced corn, fruit, veg, worms and snails.

what do you mean by knobbly? misshaped or with bumps on?

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Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

Still egg shaped with smooth top and bottom but ridges running down the sides. All the hens look healthy.

could be that she just had a bit too much calcium, this gives bumps of thick shell and isnt anything to worry about, if they are top to bottom ridges it could be the egg was a bigger than normal and she had to strain, I wouldnt worry in either case.

__________________
Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

Ridges running lengthways or around the middle of the egg? Sometimes they do the latter if they have been disturbed halfway through laying - it's not much to worry about and the eggs are still edible, although ridges that run lengthways might indicate some illness if they do it habitually (I think - but don't take my word for it!).

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Dwell simply ~ love richly

Thank you. I have never had anything to do with hens before and was worried I might be giving them something I shouldn't. They run after me now to see what tit bit I might have for them and will take it from me and be petted. (Well snatch it from me really.)Nearly all the eggs have been big, as large as the duck eggs I bought.

They obviously know what side their bread is buttered!! Well done for taking on your ex-batts, hope they give you lots of lovely big eggs for years to come

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Dwell simply ~ love richly

in that case just keep an eye on them in case they get egg bound, they can die from it if not caught in time.
we had a hen who would once a week or so lay a double yolker, that was bigger than our aylsbury duck eggs, the egg would be in two distinct coulors, before and after straining. lol.

__________________
Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

My ex-batts sometimes lay "crinkled" shelled eggs Still lovely to eat, and no harmful effects on the chook. We also sometimes get "stripy" eggs, speckled in a band round the centre. I'm not worrying about them, just trying to work out who's laying what!

would you get any clues from the chicken(other than huge doubleyolker!)that she might be egg bound.just we got a HUGE egg today fairly thin shell(broke in my hand)&it was a double yolk,found it quite exciting at time but now wondering if i should be worried?!the girls are all about 21weeks old&that was the 1st soft shelled huge egg.although not sure if 1 laid a no-sheller y'day?let them out of coop & ther was what looked like egg white on the ground & they were pecking at it?made me panic it was gonna turn them into eggeaters but dont think theyve sussed that said thing was same as whats inside their eggs?!7 unpecked eggs waiting for us this arvo.
sorry just reread & realised what a waffle!!

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the fates lead him who will;him who won't they drag.

Happiness is not having what you want,but wanting what you have.xx

soft shelled eggs are common when the birds are young and also when starting and finishing their yearly cycle and is nothing to worry about as long as they are getting a balanced diet, chances are she'll lay another double yolker with shell soon.

__________________
Yo an' Bob
Walk lightly on the earth
take only what you need
give all you can
and your produce will be bountifull

I collected six ex bats last Sunday. They all seem to be settling in OK and between them laying four to five eggs a day. Some of the eggs are odd shapes, mainly ridges around the middle of the egg and a couple of soft shells. They actually laid two eggs in the car bringing them home, bless them. The shells in general are much thinner than our other chooks but as their diet changes and they get stronger I expect that to change. At the moment they are still on dry layers mash with a sprinkling of chook spice. So far so good.

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