MixedFlock61
In the Brooder
- Sep 28, 2015
- 9
- 3
- 11
I saw a thread from 2013 on this subject but didn't find any solutions so I am restarting a thread.
I couldn't figure out why one of my hens would lay in the nest for over an hour and then jump out "expelling" the egg on the hen house floor. I got my answer today. Three nests had hens in them (one being my problem layer) so I decided to watch. Hen #1 puffed up, stood up and layed her egg, left the nest and went outside. Hen #2 did the same thing. Hen #3, puffed up (stayed laying) and then stood up. I couldn't see an egg so I blocked her from exiting the nest. She turned around and there it was, stuck to her rump feathers. Reasoning tells me, she stays laying down when the egg comes out, as the bloom dries, it keeps the eggs stuck to her rear, when she exits the nest, the first hop sends the egg crashing to the floor. I don't want to trim her Downey butt feathers so I am hoping to find a solution to this problem. It seems that the bloom on very smooth shelled eggs tends to be sticky. I have one blue layer that has a rougher textured shell and the bloom is not sticky.
I couldn't figure out why one of my hens would lay in the nest for over an hour and then jump out "expelling" the egg on the hen house floor. I got my answer today. Three nests had hens in them (one being my problem layer) so I decided to watch. Hen #1 puffed up, stood up and layed her egg, left the nest and went outside. Hen #2 did the same thing. Hen #3, puffed up (stayed laying) and then stood up. I couldn't see an egg so I blocked her from exiting the nest. She turned around and there it was, stuck to her rump feathers. Reasoning tells me, she stays laying down when the egg comes out, as the bloom dries, it keeps the eggs stuck to her rear, when she exits the nest, the first hop sends the egg crashing to the floor. I don't want to trim her Downey butt feathers so I am hoping to find a solution to this problem. It seems that the bloom on very smooth shelled eggs tends to be sticky. I have one blue layer that has a rougher textured shell and the bloom is not sticky.