Took me 6 hours to figure out why my eggs had thin shells

I was going crazy checking my feed mix and calcium levels for weeks. Then I realized my oyster shells were just sitting in the corner of the run untouched because they were too close to the waterer and got all muddy and gross. It took me 6 hours total across three afternoons to figure out the problem and move their dish to a dry spot under the coop overhang. Has anyone else dealt with hens ignoring something they clearly need just because of where you put it?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_vera6d ago

Moved my calcium dish to a spot where the morning sun hits it right after I refill it. Turns out my girls like their oyster shells warm and dry, not cold and damp like they were getting on the shady side of the run. Also started putting a handful of their regular feed on top of the shells for the first few days to remind them it's food, not just decoration. That did the trick within a week.

elliotl246d ago

Man, that's such a chicken thing to do, isn't it? Mine did the same with their grit last winter. I had it in a nice little dish right next to their main feeder, thinking I was being smart about convenience. They totally ignored it for like a week and I was so confused because they were clearly having trouble digesting stuff. Eventually I caught on because the dish was sitting right under a leaky spot in the roof and everything was caked in damp, nasty clumps. Moved it to a sunny spot on the patio and suddenly they're digging through it like it's fine dining. Sometimes you have to think like a chicken to figure out these mysteries, it's maddening but funny.