I'm thinking this is a case of our pullet trying to get her act together. She's been laying about 6 weeks.
We have 3 hens. Hen #1 is a RSL, about a year old, and lays every morning. Her eggs are distinctive in size and she is consistent in when and where she lays. Hen #2 is a BSL, she's younger and usually lays in the afternoon, always in the nesting box. Hen #3 is my youngest, also a BSL, she's been laying about 6 weeks. She normally lays very early in the morning - sometimes before the sun comes up - and she lays in her own nest that she made next to the nesting boxes. She sometimes lays double-yolkers. #3 is weird like that.
Yesterday morning, #1 laid her egg in the morning. #2 laid her egg after lunch. I then noticed #3 not acting herself. She was lethargic - off her feed - not "talking" to me or coming when she saw me - she was standing in an odd posture with her back almost straight. She was drinking okay and eating a little but she clearly wasn't herself. I then realized she'd not given us an egg for 2 DAYS! Quite unlike her. I was worried and began researching "egg bound".
This is what we've gotten in the last 23 hours - since 5:00 yesterday afternoon:
1. Found a soft-shelled egg in #3's hand-made nest and she was feeling much better, eating, running around, talking. Whew! Not egg bound! So, all 3 girls laid yesterday.
2. Open run this morning and find a perfect egg sitting in the run. NEVER have we had one there. Hubby said it looked like it just "fell out". It had to have been laid the evening prior and he didn't see it in the dark when he locked the girls up. BTW, there are no other chickens in the neighborhood and it was inside the run. Had to be from one of our girls.
3. Hen #1 lays her normal egg in her regular nest this morning.
4. Found another soft-shelled egg in the hand-made nest used by #3. It's a double-yolker.
5. Hen #2 gives us a perfect egg in the regular nest where she usually lays this afternoon.
That's 5 eggs - 6 yolks - from 3 hens in less than 24 hours. I'm thinking that #3 did both of the soft-shelled eggs and the egg found in the run = 3 eggs and 4 yolks from her alone. Almost like she was "backed up" and laid them all at once. Everyone else has performed as expected and the other two haven't had any issues or missed any days of laying.
I'm hopeful this is just a case of her getting her egg-laying act together. She had several soft-shelled eggs the week she began laying. No reason for them to be soft-shelled as she gets plenty of layer feed plus is offered crushed egg shells and crushed oyster shells. Anyone else have a hen do such a thing?
We have 3 hens. Hen #1 is a RSL, about a year old, and lays every morning. Her eggs are distinctive in size and she is consistent in when and where she lays. Hen #2 is a BSL, she's younger and usually lays in the afternoon, always in the nesting box. Hen #3 is my youngest, also a BSL, she's been laying about 6 weeks. She normally lays very early in the morning - sometimes before the sun comes up - and she lays in her own nest that she made next to the nesting boxes. She sometimes lays double-yolkers. #3 is weird like that.
Yesterday morning, #1 laid her egg in the morning. #2 laid her egg after lunch. I then noticed #3 not acting herself. She was lethargic - off her feed - not "talking" to me or coming when she saw me - she was standing in an odd posture with her back almost straight. She was drinking okay and eating a little but she clearly wasn't herself. I then realized she'd not given us an egg for 2 DAYS! Quite unlike her. I was worried and began researching "egg bound".
This is what we've gotten in the last 23 hours - since 5:00 yesterday afternoon:
1. Found a soft-shelled egg in #3's hand-made nest and she was feeling much better, eating, running around, talking. Whew! Not egg bound! So, all 3 girls laid yesterday.
2. Open run this morning and find a perfect egg sitting in the run. NEVER have we had one there. Hubby said it looked like it just "fell out". It had to have been laid the evening prior and he didn't see it in the dark when he locked the girls up. BTW, there are no other chickens in the neighborhood and it was inside the run. Had to be from one of our girls.
3. Hen #1 lays her normal egg in her regular nest this morning.
4. Found another soft-shelled egg in the hand-made nest used by #3. It's a double-yolker.
5. Hen #2 gives us a perfect egg in the regular nest where she usually lays this afternoon.
That's 5 eggs - 6 yolks - from 3 hens in less than 24 hours. I'm thinking that #3 did both of the soft-shelled eggs and the egg found in the run = 3 eggs and 4 yolks from her alone. Almost like she was "backed up" and laid them all at once. Everyone else has performed as expected and the other two haven't had any issues or missed any days of laying.
I'm hopeful this is just a case of her getting her egg-laying act together. She had several soft-shelled eggs the week she began laying. No reason for them to be soft-shelled as she gets plenty of layer feed plus is offered crushed egg shells and crushed oyster shells. Anyone else have a hen do such a thing?
