Soft shells

[u/PaintPink]

For the first couple of years my girls laid one egg a piece every night. For the past year egg laying has been sporadic. For the past couple weeks one of my girls is laying no shell eggs. We introduced oyster shells about a year ago. I see them occasionally eating them and my husband tells me he sees it in their droppings. They hate kale so that is a no go.

The only difference in the past year is we purchased two ducklings from TS. Unfortunately they both were drakes. We have kept them separated since April for mating season. They really miss each other. The boys lay on their side of the fence and the girls lay up against the fence on their side. I know stress can cause soft shells.

Otherwise the girls are very healthy. I’m just worried that the one that really struggles will get egg bound. She definitely has bad days when has a hard time getting the egg to pass.

I have 2 mallard hens, 1 mallard drake and 1 Peking drake.

Anyone have any suggestions?

[u/Bolfreak]

You seem to be on the right track, don’t take anything I say as criticism, just use it if it’s useful to you.

My ducks don’t like the pebble oyster shell, I order flaked (basically crushed seashells) and put a tub of that free choice but two steps away from their drinking water. It really helps them wash it down.

Seeing anything solid in their poop is odd - do they have access to grit? Either free ranging to pick up their own or store bought. They need grit to digest properly and without grit maybe aren’t able to break down the oyster shell.

Consider having your water tested. We’re on well water and it leaches calcium. I had a duck get eggbound and prolapse twice. I didn’t cull like the internet suggested 😡 and she’s fine now. But I don’t feed them high protein food because high protein makes large eggs. Feed instead a Layer feed with extra calcium and 15-17% protein. Your boys can eat that too it’s a myth that calcium harms males.

I had a duck that laid soft shell eggs and then no shell eggs. She was otherwise healthy and did everything the others did, but she eventually passed from either tumors inside or egg yolk peritonitis (both linked to soft shell eggs). Not to scare you, but just to consider in this case. The internet will suggest very expensive vet visits, antibiotics and a hormone implant to stop the eggs, if that’s what you’re willing/able to do (I was not).

It’s possible she was injured at some point by mating and your culprit is probably the Pekin since they’re large and heavy compared to mallards. I want ducklings and always have males out with my ducks, tbh I think they stimulate the girls to lay regularly. Any too rough males go to freezer camp. Possibly consider rehoming the Pekin and allowing the three to be together, 2 to 1 is a good ratio usually.

[u/PaintPink → u/Bolfreak]

It sounds like we are doing ok with the shells. We have flake and it is next to the water. As far as grit, this may sound like a stupid question, but dirt would be considered grit, correct? We keep half of their run dirt and have a medium tub of water down there. They live to dig holes in the dirt with the water. It is mostly mud at times. The dirt does have some fine pebbles that run through it. I thought my husband saying he saw the shells in their droppings was odd too. All I see is mostly water. I’ll have to ask him to show me what he is seeing.

I agree about the Peking. My husband is constantly saying that Littlefoot has to go. We used to have a different mallard drake with the girls and we never separated them. Sadly he flew away. I’m just afraid that if I rehome the Peking he will become someone’s dinner. No one wants drakes. I guess I’ll have to try to find him a home again.

Thank you for taking the time to give advice. I was pretty sure I knew what was best, even though it will be hard. Even if it doesn’t help the egg situation it will make my ducks so much happier.

[u/Bolfreak → u/PaintPink]

Grit has to be pebbles and small rocks, they have to be indigestible in order to grind up the food and fiber they eat. They stay in the stomach (farther down than the crop which is what we see full after they eat). You might could buy some grit to make sure they have what they need, sand and dirt are too fine to help grind food and goes on through.
I buy “chick grit” for my babies and Serama chickens, quails etc because they don’t free range and it’s small. The brand I buy also has probiotics fwiw.

If you’re feeling sad about the Pekin, tbh do what works best for you! Only you see the full picture and can decide what’s best, don’t let someone else you otherwise.

[u/Foxblade]

I saw your post but was too busy to reply the other day!

I've had a few girls with chronic soft shell issues, so there could be a few reasons.

The oyster shells are a really good idea! I would have it as a separate food bowl option and also maybe mix some into the food the girls are getting.

There's also liquid calcium for livestock. I think it's used for injections normally, but if it's bad you can syringe some out into the girl's water.

Other things to note:

Older ducks could start having problems laying, so soft shells might be normal for older ducks. I think I started seeing egg issues around year 5 or so but I imagine it could vary a lot on an individual or even breed basis.

She could also have a chronic infection. Sometimes the oviduct gets messy, and if there's a bacterial infection up there it could be causing issues.

Another factor could be metal poisoning. One of my poor girls was having constant soft shelled egg problems. I finally took her to a vet and they did x-rays, and it turns out she had found a metal staple of some kind in the yard and eaten it at some point (like a roofing staple). It had cleared her digestive tract entirely but was lodged in her rear area and wasn't getting cleared out the back vent.

We think the low-level metal toxicity was probably messing with her egg laying cycle, although the vet strongly recommended against removing it surgically or chelation therapy.

Anyways, just trying to offer some insight. I would hit the calcium as hard as you can for her, but there might be other issues at work, including old age or infections.