Ruber Eggs

[fuzzydux]

My female Pekin has started to lay "rubber eggs"............. they have no hard shell, just a thick rubbery skin. I am guessing this is probably a calcium issue and am wondering what would be a good supplement to give her that won't aversely affect my male. FYI - her beak is also a bit pale, if that helps.

[ChickMom]

I would suggest purchasing oyster shell - should be available at any feedstore - and then just put a little in a dish that you set out somewhere that she can get to if she wants it. If she is needing calcium (which certainly sounds that way), she should eat the stuff. The males don't normally eat it although I have a rescue boy who did when he first arrived. He had had a poor diet and I think he must have been needing some calcium. He's mostly stopped eating it now. But if you male eats some, it shouldn't harm him as he's not likely to eat much. Instead of oyster shell, you can also provide egg shell but I find the oyster shell easy. If your girl won't eat the oyster shell, you can purchase a supplement called calci-boost at many pet stores and put a small bit on a treat. You don't do it every day but there is a schedule described on the package. Best wishes.

[fuzzydux]

Can the oyster shell scratch her up on the inside?

[ChickMom]

It kind of dissolves in water - you can put it in a water dish if you like - so no, it won't scratch her up. My ducks like to get a mouthful of oyster shell and then stick their bills in the water. It leaves a kind of grit in the bottom of the dish and a whitish water.

[Waterfowlrescue]

Ducks need some roughage for their digestive system to work properly. Ducks dont have a stomach and digest like we do they have a gizzard. The gizzard is a big muscle that crushes the food with the aid of small rocks and grit. Its very interesteing to see the inside of a gizzard to see all the stuff they keep in there.

The oyster shell thats made for poultry wont hurt them.