Suddenly the weirdness is upon my small 4-hen flock once again -- the past few days it seems laying has gone a bit haywire, just like it did last summer, and it's not even spring here yet!
First a couple of days ago in early morning I found what must have been an egg that my hen Lucy dropped while roosting during the night -- it was sitting in her poop under the roost, was broken and sort of soft looking. Next day I found her egg in a nesting box (next to another girl's egg) with the top nibbled off but the egg still inside (this happened for a period last year). Again early this morning I found not an egg or shell, but egg yolk and white sitting in her poop under the roost. Lucy claims the same spot on the roost every night so I'm 99% sure it's her eggs I'm seeing. She spent an hour or so sitting in the nest box this morning but no egg!
This morning another hen had spent some time in the nesting box, and then a while later I found her egg sitting outside the coop, down some steps, and in the enclosure doorway -- only way it could have gotten there is if she had come out and just dropped the egg in passing! This is a first!
As to the nibbled egg yesterday -- I couldn't ever figure out last year what was going on or who was doing it -- the hens, Blue Jays, squirrels? I added multiple fake eggs to the nesting boxes (usually have just one fake egg per box cuz two of the hens seem to get confused if I don't leave an egg there), and that led to a broody hen getting "switched on," and that problem managed to completely overshadow and stop all the egg nibbling that had been going on. Never happened again until yesterday.
Don't know if the egg nibbling will ever be solved or the nibbler determined, but what about Lucy dropping her eggs or parts of them from the roost? Could something be going on with her? The hens get laying crumbles with extra oyster shell, and fat free cottage cheese or some shredded low salt cheese in small quantities most days along with other feed, veggies and so forth. I feel they must be getting enough calcium. Only thing I've noticed about Lucy's eggs in just past week is that where they were smooth and dark tan, they had lightened up and had small sand-like bumps on them.
Anybody have any ideas?
Thanks!
Kerry
First a couple of days ago in early morning I found what must have been an egg that my hen Lucy dropped while roosting during the night -- it was sitting in her poop under the roost, was broken and sort of soft looking. Next day I found her egg in a nesting box (next to another girl's egg) with the top nibbled off but the egg still inside (this happened for a period last year). Again early this morning I found not an egg or shell, but egg yolk and white sitting in her poop under the roost. Lucy claims the same spot on the roost every night so I'm 99% sure it's her eggs I'm seeing. She spent an hour or so sitting in the nest box this morning but no egg!
This morning another hen had spent some time in the nesting box, and then a while later I found her egg sitting outside the coop, down some steps, and in the enclosure doorway -- only way it could have gotten there is if she had come out and just dropped the egg in passing! This is a first!
As to the nibbled egg yesterday -- I couldn't ever figure out last year what was going on or who was doing it -- the hens, Blue Jays, squirrels? I added multiple fake eggs to the nesting boxes (usually have just one fake egg per box cuz two of the hens seem to get confused if I don't leave an egg there), and that led to a broody hen getting "switched on," and that problem managed to completely overshadow and stop all the egg nibbling that had been going on. Never happened again until yesterday.
Don't know if the egg nibbling will ever be solved or the nibbler determined, but what about Lucy dropping her eggs or parts of them from the roost? Could something be going on with her? The hens get laying crumbles with extra oyster shell, and fat free cottage cheese or some shredded low salt cheese in small quantities most days along with other feed, veggies and so forth. I feel they must be getting enough calcium. Only thing I've noticed about Lucy's eggs in just past week is that where they were smooth and dark tan, they had lightened up and had small sand-like bumps on them.
Anybody have any ideas?
Thanks!
Kerry
