Soft Shelled Eggs

            This one isn’t a disease, but it is something I’ve run into several times during my chicken keeping adventure.  Strictly speaking, and in a lot of cases, it’s no big deal.  There are a myriad reasons chickens will have soft shells.  Kind of like you and I getting a sharp pain or pinch out of nowhere.  Oh there’s a “reason” for it, but you never figure it out and it never happens again or happens so infrequently you’re surprised each time.  Possibly not the best analogy, but the only one I could come up with right now.  Grin… 

            I’ve come across soft shell eggs in two different forms.  The first, is simply eggs with thin shells.  They don’t look any different than other eggs, but when you go to pick them up, they have a totally different “feel”, in that you just know the shell isn’t as hard as the rest and when put in the basket with the others, it cracks.  Or when I go to crack it in the kitchen, it pretty much squashes, getting egg shell in whatever I’m trying to crack the egg into.  The second way is to find an egg that looks nearly transparent and is squishy and wiggly.  They almost feel like a jello egg (if you’re old enough to remember jello wigglers or when jello came out with the molds to use knox gelatin and make Easter Eggs from jello).  These are a bit fun to play with, so long as you don’t mind the possibility that you’ll break it, creating a big mess and wasting the egg. 

            So, what are some of the causes of these conditions?  I’ll list them in order of how I approached the cause.  Numbers 1 and 2 are the only conditions I’ve had to face in the soft shell scenarios.  I’ve been able to reverse the thin shells in as few as a couple of days by addressing number 2 quickly.  Lord willing, I’ll never address the rest of the issues.

1.  Hot days.  When the weather turns really hot, chickens naturally slow the egg making process.  It takes energy to create eggs and energy creates heat, so the obvious answer is to not create any extra heat.  Also, chickens slow their food intake in the extreme heat (whatever extreme is to them in their environment – here, it is when it gets to and stays 95 or so for several days in a row; in your area, it could be 85 and over). 

2.  Calcium Deficiency.  Calcium, obviously, is needed to create eggs.  Remember, as well, calcium is needed to maintain a healthy body.  So, chickens need a bit more calcium to maintain health and egg production.  It only stands to reason if they only have enough for one or the other, something has to give and like humans, their body will protect itself first.

3.  Overall Protein/Mineral/Vitamin Deficiency.  Chickens need good levels of all of these.  If your chickens are free range and have access to lots of good weeds, grass and bugs, they’re most likely getting everything they need.  Unless you see an issue, leave it alone.  However, if you feed a commercial feed or mix your own (which is what I usually do) then you may need to take a look at your feed.  Is it missing something?  Could you supplement with something natural?  There are a lot of benefits to weeding your garden aside from helping the plants you want to grow have more space and nutrients - - weeded gardens produce weeds that need to be discarded and chickens LOVE weeds!  When mine were penned, I picked weeds regularly for them.  I dumped all my weeds in their pen.  Heck, in the winter, I used to pick weeds directly from the yard to give to them.  It was great for them and the lawn come springtime.  Avoid feeding spinach, chard and citrus.  All three interfere with calcium absorption in hens.  Just leave them off the chickens’ menus.  Easier to not feed them these than to worry about doing so and whether Otter loves oranges and ran off with a bigger portion that she should have.  J  The following weeds/herbs are particularly high in calcium, so consider adding these to the menu instead:  alfalfa, burdock root, chamomile, chickweed, clover, dandelion greens, horsetail, lambs quarter, mustard greens, nettle, parsley, peppermint, raspberry leaf, rose hips and watercress.

4.  Certain Breeds/Ages are More Prone than others.  Older hybrids (Sex Links, Comets, etc) and older birds are more prone to soft/thin shelled eggs simply because the hybrids are bred to optimize their production quicker (thus using up their reserves quickly) and the older birds simply start getting “old” (like older humans can begin breaking bones as they age).
5.  Stress.  Enough said?  Bullying, barking dogs, threats regularly (meaning a hawk or some other predator is repeatedly trying to get to them and more can cause any number of adverse effects on hens with the first response being withholding those jewels from the nest and soft/thin shelled eggs next.

               

Disease #1 - Coccidiosis

            So, you’ve made the decision to get chickens.  You’ve built their house, nesting boxes and pen, procured (or made) feeders and waterers.  You’ve researched breeds, driven your significant other, children and friends showing pictures of this breed, that breed and asked tons of questions on every online forum you can find.  You’ve decided you can have x number hens and one or no roosters. 

            The Feed Store brings in their shipment, you go wild!!  You find an online hatchery and cannot believe there are even more breeds actually available than you thought possible and you melt the plastic!!  Your friend hears you are “finally” ready for chickens and she sets 4x the number you agreed with your significant other you could  have in the incubator (after all, they may not all hatch, right?).  However it happens, you now have chicks. 

            What happens now?  NOW YOU LEARN!!  Yes, now the learning really begins.  Oh, you’ve read and read and read and you know a lot.  But there is SO much more to learn and it’s unlikely you’ll actually ever learn it all.  I thought, at one point, I knew a lot.  After reading these last few months and following several other blogs, I realize just how un-learned about chickens I am.  I’m not a novice and I’m not inexperienced.  I’m just not as up on my game as I thought I was. 

            Learning chickens is an amazing experience.  They can be taught.  I find it takes a lot of patience and persistence, but they can be taught.  The hard part of the chicken experience is the poor health learning.  There are so very many things that can go wrong with a chicken it’s crazy.  These next few posts, I hope to share with you the things I have personally run into.  I hope that you read this and are able to use it (actually, I hope you don’t and can’t, meaning I hope you never have these issues to use my mistakes and victories).

            Let me start by saying I AM NOT A VETERINARIAN, SKILLED VET TECHNICIAN, HUMAN DOCTOR OR SCIENTIST.  I am only sharing my personal experiences and what has worked for me.  You make your own informed decisions and treat accordingly.

COCCIDIOSIS

            First thing you want to know is your chickens.  Watch them, observe them, touch them, interact with them.  This way, you’ll know when they’re off.  What?  Little Peep is laying down a lot?  Why?  She usually runs around like a, well, chicken.  Mr Pip is hunching his head into his shoulders?  Doesn’t he usually walk around with his beak in the air?  How about Feather Butt who’s hiding in the corner?  Doesn’t she usually freak if she’s not wing to wing with another chick?  These are all classic symptoms something is wrong.

            Coccidia that infect chickens do not affect other types of livestock, and vice versa. (Ex:  Goats carry Coccidia – they can’t give it to chickens)  This also goes along with different species of birds – not all birds carry the same parasites.  The Coccidia that I speak of here is referring to the Chicken variety only.

            Coccidia are microscopic parasitic organisms that infect poultry when ingested.  They are found on the ground or in droppings.  They attach themselves to the lining in the stomach, multiply and become oocysts that feed in the digestive tract which makes it bleed. Once infected, your bird passes the parasites in their poop days before they exhibit symptoms. 
            However – with the above said – coccidia are actually everywhere.  You can’t prevent it from being there.  You can only arm your chicken with what it needs/takes to keep them healthy in the first place.  Prevention means a strong immune system which means resistance.
 Coccidiosis is caused by nine different type of Eimeria protozoa, some are more serious than others. It can be fatal.  Chickens that survive an outbreak are often immune to the specific type they contracted and more resistant to the other strains.
            Chicks, are more susceptible to Cocci than adult birds, but adults are not totally immune.  If an adult has a compromised immune system, it can get sick, so be mindful of your feather babies.

SYMPTOMS

Dirty, unkept and grungy looking
Weak
Fluffed feathers
Pale skin, feet or comb
Refusal to eat/drink
Head tucked into their shoulds (hunched look)
Bloody Poop / Yellow Foamy Poop

MEDICATED VS NON-MEDICATED

I use medicated feed with all chicks now.  I have lost chicks to Coccidiosis on several occasions when I didn’t.  Now, all chicks get it.  It’s not an experiment I’m ready to try at this time.  I have read and have raised chicks with the hen and not used medicated feed and had no problem.  There is some talk that they build an immunity this way.  It stands to reason and I’ve seen it first hand on several occasions, but now that I know it’s in the soil in a larger population than where I used to live, I’m still not willing to try it right now.  I have raised chicks off the ground with great results without using medicated feed and had no issue when I finally put them on the ground.  Think I got lucky there. 
            Recently, I had 4 chicks on the porch, never having touched the ground.  They were beautiful, healthy and happy.  I had a hen who needed to be away from the Big Girls, so I brought her onto the porch.  Well, she pooped in the water (yes, I cleaned it the minute I saw it), but apparently, it contaminated the water to the point the chicks got sick.  Classic Cocci signs and even though I treated them, they all died.  So – medicated feed from here on out until I can find a natural alternative.
            Medicated Feed, however, will not treat or cure Coccidiosis if chickens do exhibit symptoms.  

CLEAN WATER

            Keep chick water clean!  As I mentioned above, poop (and it’s everywhere!) contaminated water can spread the disease as well as the poop itself.  Best bet is to use waterers with small resevoirs so they can’t get grubby feet into it, it’s harder to get their bum over the side and they can’t kick as much bedding (probably pooped on) into it either.

PREVENTION

            An acidic system is a great deterent to Coccidia.  Apple Cider Vinegar in the water, fresh Garlic – both are great for creating a hostile environment for Coccidia.  These will both also help with other types of worms/parasites.  

TREATMENT

            The one I have used and had success with is Corid.  You can purchase this at the Feed Store (I know, particularly, Tractor Supply carries it – and that’s not a plug for them, I just happen to know every time I’ve gone to get it, they have it).  It comes – the one I buy – a foil type package and is a powder.  1/3 tsp to a gallon of water.  Refresh every day.  Treat for 5 days.  Then, again in 10 days repeat the treatment. 
            There are other treatments, one in particular seems to get a lot of attention – a Milk Flush.  I have found Corid (even though it’s a chemical) works and works fast, so it’s my choice.  I can’t see letting anything suffer and die like Coccidios will cause them to do, so I use it. 

             I do use a vitamin water after treatment is over to help replace what is lost by the parasite and chemical.  So far, it seems to be a good thing.  I also add in a few extra veggies and some scrambled siblings – er – eggs for extra protein.  I like them to bounce back quick.

Above all, watch and react.  If you see a problem, address it immediately, don’t wait.  A chicken can be fine today, not quite fine tomorrow but not sick and dead the next day!!

GOOD LUCK!!  Next week, I’ll talk about Wry Neck and what I’ve done for/with that.