... And not so thin egg shells

Good news on the egg front. The last three sets of eggs have been completely normal with good strong shells, so I think we can rule out calcium deficiency. I think Cissy must just had a fright (or was disturbed by one thing or another) while in mid-lay in the nest.

I did, however, do my research, in case it happens again. I found that baked and crushed egg shells should be enough to provide them with calcium, or alternatively I could spike their pellets with a small amount of limestone flour (a calcium supplement for horses) and cod liver oil (to help to absorb the calcium). The important thing is only to give them one supplement at a time, because over-dosing the chickens with calcium might lead to other problems.  

Have I learned anything from this? Yeah, keep your nose out of the coop unless both of the chickens are out!

Thin egg shells

This morning I found something interesting in the nest. My first thought was that I shouldn't have been feeding the chickens their egg shells as they now seem to have developed a taste for eggs, but on closer inspection I could see that the shell was very thin, so instead of an egg eating monster I have at least one chicken (Cissy by the looks of things) that's not getting enough calcium to produce strong shells.

Now that I think about it, they seem to have been pecking the grit pot a lot... I've topped it up with grit mixed with (baked and crushed) eggshells, and they're not getting any treats for a couple of days. If that doesn't help then it's time for more drastic action, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed.