One of my chickens is laying eggs with gritty shells. Anyone know why? How to help her?

Question

They eat layers mash in the morning, corn mix in the afternoon and whatever they can find in my garden in between! They also have a constant supply of grit. (The egg inside the shell is fine - it's just the shell that is gritty)

Answer 1

Grit will grind food & help digestion,for shell quality you will need to give a calcium/ mineral additive in poultry diet.Cuttle fish as already suggested is soft & hens readily peck at it.shell quality always improves with cuttle fish on offer for poultry.

Additives for mixing into feed & drinking water are sold ,these are formulated for poultry & used by large farms,for the back yard rearer ,cuttle is the answer.

Answer 2

If the shell is firm and relatively thick (not that easy to crack) then this suggests she has enough calcium in her diet and I wouldn't worry about the gritty shell, it's probably just a blip in her system.

Thin shells indicate calcium deficiency as you can either add limestone flour to their feed (can be bought from livestock or equestrian supply stores) or add a calcium supplement to their drink (I use Davinova C).

Limestone flour is easily absorbed into the hens body so is supplies the hen with calcium for her bones and the egg. If a hen isn't getting enough calcium she may leach the calcium from her bones to form the shell and this is when you can end up with lame hens.

Answer 3

She needs a lot of shell grit,

give her some cuttle fish to peck

Her calcium levels are too low

the eggs will smooth out when her levels are healthy

Answer 4

i have no idea. but i know that the shell on eggs is made by the chicken eating grain.

maybe thats helps you in some way? what are feeding her?