Hen dropping eggs from roost

[Jinxy]

There is already a post about this but that was for younger chicks and about the chickens laying in the morning.

My chicken lays her egg in the middle of the night after she gets rid of all her poop ( on top of her poop) and it falls and breaks. The egg is also really soft so it looks like it wouldn't survive if she laid it normally.

I wonder if any of these things could be the reason/s . She also has some poop on her back feathers around her butt and they have been there for 2 weeks and hasn't taken a dirt bath. This has happened 3 days in a row. The hen is 1 year and 2 months old and has moved from another house to this one she has been fine for about a month and now this is happening. We have 2 other chickens which are smaller than her. She is also the dominate one of the chickens if that means anything.
<---- the front chicken is Jinx

Please tell me anything that may help or if this is "Normal"

Thanks, ~Jinxy

(jinx is the hens name)

 

[cavemanrich]

I SUSPECT THERE IS SOMETHING DYSFUNCTIONAL IN CHICKENS INTESTINAL TRACT.. A chicken is not supposed to lay eggs at night. Only exception is if there is constant light like in the chicken egg factories. Poop on her feathers means runny stools. Not right. Normal, healthy chickens make poop that just does not stick to their rear end feathers well. Lil gumdrops just roll off and drop clean. A possibility may be worms or something else. Lets see what others suggest here. ... Offer her to take a dust bath.. Seems like a mixture of potting soil and peat moss is most irresistible bath medium.
WISHING YOU BEST

 

[Jinxy]

And the egg is soft is that because there isn't enough calcium?

 

[cavemanrich]

That is the usual reason. If you are using layer feed , most often it is sufficient. If you are using other feed, ( Which is also good ) Then you supplement with oyster shells free choice. In the Ideal Universe, All the chickens would eat exactly the amount of these shells they need. In the real Universe, some chickens neglect eating those cracked oyster shells in the proper quantity.
SOLUTION,,,,,,, add these oyster shells to their feed in small quantities. If they feel they had enough, they will leave it at the bottom of the feeder. Do not worry that they will overdose on the oyster shells. They will eat to satisfy their needs. Oyster shell are not like a tasty treat where they would just want to EAT IT ALL.

 

[Justso]

I supplement my layer feed with oyster shell. I fill the feeder then get a hefty handful of oyster grit and disperse it in the feeder holes. Enough, probably a small amount, will be ingested- enough to make a difference. I also had a hen with a dirty butt her whole life, but your situation sounds very unusual with the nighttime laying.
Are her stools normal? If not I would consider worming your flock, if there are parasites there might be an absorption issue?

 

[Jinxy]

The stools are the same as the other chickens. And by worming the flock you mean?

 

[Justso]

Oops, I mean DE-WORMING!!
I had a laying issue with my 1yr + hen that has vastly improved since I dewormed her. She was a little scraggly looking and layed 1-2 times a week, I thought it was just a bad mood but now she's layed ever day. Too bad I need to toss the eggs for 10 days!! I used Valbazan, 1cc. and will repeat in December. If you have a good number of chickens I would suggest you go ahead and get some. Otherwise you may be able to go in with someone in your area that already has some.

 

[5BeachHens]

She may have some sort of infection in her girl parts. Can you have her looked at by a vet? Our girl did the same thing last Fall. We ended up having to giver her an IUD so she'd stop laying eggs and allow her body to help fight the infection. And, it worked! To our amazement she is again laying fine and back in the nesting boxes! Good luck!

 

[Jinxy]

Day 4: She didn't lay an egg during the night time. The past 3 days she did drop an egg at night but today she didn't. I am still wondering if the poop on her back feathers is related to the eggs dropping at night.

 

[Justso]

Keep us posted!