chooky_2_shoes
In the Brooder
- Dec 3, 2023
- 5
- 7
- 14
Hoping for some advice about a sudden change in egg quality for the last week/week and a half (hoping I can blame the weather?)
Have a 7 month old Belgian d'Uccle who started laying just before Christmas and was laying a consistently perfect little egg every 2-3 days. She didn't seem to get the concept of laying in the nest box, so they were randomly found about their run/coop but otherwise fine. For the last week or so, I've found shell-less eggs in the coop/on the ground, often torn and eaten. The one I found that was fairly fresh had a normal yolk/albumin as far as I could tell. She hasn't laid a normal egg since last week. Vent looks OK, she's her usual friendly self and doesn't appear unwell.
She's with two other d'Uccle pullets who also seem fine (18 and 22 weeks, I don't believe they're laying yet). They're on a layer feed crumble and I've gotten them some fine shell grit a few days ago (which they have all seen and sampled from the container, so they know it's there). I was potentially overdoing the treats for the last few weeks (almost daily fruit and veg scraps, but not a huge amount as they're only little) so I eased up to let them fill up on their layer feed.
Its been stinking hot here in Western Australia the last week or so with a heatwave of 38-40C (100+F) so they've been getting AviVital and ice-bricks in their water and hosing their run/dunking their undercarriage to cool them down. They're in dense shade for the majority of the day. They have definitely been hot and bothered, but not to the point where they look unwell and they're still active.
I'm worried about one of these eggs rupturing in her oviduct, so I'd love to fix the problem if possible. If it's a calcium deficiency then hopefully the feed+grit will address that, but if it's a symptom of the weather, I'll just keep them as cool as possible and wait for a reprieve next week.
Thank you!
Have a 7 month old Belgian d'Uccle who started laying just before Christmas and was laying a consistently perfect little egg every 2-3 days. She didn't seem to get the concept of laying in the nest box, so they were randomly found about their run/coop but otherwise fine. For the last week or so, I've found shell-less eggs in the coop/on the ground, often torn and eaten. The one I found that was fairly fresh had a normal yolk/albumin as far as I could tell. She hasn't laid a normal egg since last week. Vent looks OK, she's her usual friendly self and doesn't appear unwell.
She's with two other d'Uccle pullets who also seem fine (18 and 22 weeks, I don't believe they're laying yet). They're on a layer feed crumble and I've gotten them some fine shell grit a few days ago (which they have all seen and sampled from the container, so they know it's there). I was potentially overdoing the treats for the last few weeks (almost daily fruit and veg scraps, but not a huge amount as they're only little) so I eased up to let them fill up on their layer feed.
Its been stinking hot here in Western Australia the last week or so with a heatwave of 38-40C (100+F) so they've been getting AviVital and ice-bricks in their water and hosing their run/dunking their undercarriage to cool them down. They're in dense shade for the majority of the day. They have definitely been hot and bothered, but not to the point where they look unwell and they're still active.
I'm worried about one of these eggs rupturing in her oviduct, so I'd love to fix the problem if possible. If it's a calcium deficiency then hopefully the feed+grit will address that, but if it's a symptom of the weather, I'll just keep them as cool as possible and wait for a reprieve next week.
Thank you!