14 eggs in 9 days from one hen?

[v8unleashed]

I'm new to the chicken thing, and I have a new flock of 7 pullets, just getting to the age they should start laying. Last Sunday I found the first two eggs, the smallest runt hen was sitting on them, and she was pretty unhappy when I moved her. I figured she had just laid one egg, on back to back days, and I had missed the first one.

But in the last 9 days, she has been sitting on a total of 14 eggs. You read that right. Yesterday, she was sitting on THREE. They are all nice eggs, small but identical in size, color, etc.

I've read it's biologically impossible for a hen to lay more than one egg per day, but something strange is going on here. NONE of the other hens is acting broody like this one. NONE of the other hens has been sitting on eggs, NONE of them has been anywhere near an egg. NONE of the other hens stays in the coop in the morning. This morning, I caught her in the act, there were no eggs under her, but when I went back an hour later, there were two.

Is it possible that this one hen has laid all of these eggs? If so, is this going to kill her, laying at this rate?

 

[Northwest_Wannabe]

Hens can lay eggs pretty quickly, they just lay when you're not there they don't have to act broody or sit in there for 20 minutes to lay an egg

 

[annampet]

I think you have other pullets getting in there to lay and this one is trying to go broody. I had a hen recently go broody, I'd find three eggs under her but she was getting out of the nesting box just long enough for the others to run in and lay.

 

[MysteryChicken]

It is possible for a hen to lay twice in one day, I've had a couple double layers in my flocks.

 

[JacinLarkwell]

Some hens will even stop walking, lay an egg and then continue like nothing happened

 

[Mamatomany123]

Some hens will even stop walking, lay an egg and then continue like nothing happened

Mine did this the other day. She was eating, pushed out an egg, then went back to eating.

There is more than 1 layer in your flock. Shes just collecting everyone's eggs and trying to go broody.

 

[Owenp_2]

I started raising chickens back in November 2020 with nine day old hens from Meyers Hatchery (which I highly recommend). I got 3 buff orpingtons, 3 Rhode Island reds and 3 silver laced Wyandottes. All of those breeds lay brown eggs. At about five months I found one of my smaller hens squalling on the patio. I walked outside and found her laying on seven eggs under the screening porch. All of our hens where free range and they would walk into the coop at night and I would close their door and then open it in the morning. It took a few days to get her to lay in the nesting box but it finally worked. I tried everything I thought I even used fake eggs in the nesting boxes. What finally made them use it was the curtains I put up. Anyways my hens at first did lay two eggs each day for about 2-2 1/2 weeks of laying.