Australorp hen tail down and laying yolks

[curlybird]

Hi there,

We have 2 australorp hens which have recently started laying, although we haven't had any eggs in about a week however we have noticed they have been laying yolks or soft shelled eggs. We have put shell grit in their coop and have recently changed them onto layer feed.

Today we noticed one of our hens isn't looking too happy and has her tail down and its very lethargic and isn't moving around much. We then noticed she laid what looks like 2 yolks...

Sorry about the blurry photo







We are new to owning chickens, hope someone has some insight into what might be wrong.

 

[aart]

Looks like a lash egg...are you sure they are both laying these?

Have you taken a look at the abdomen and vent?

Going to ask that this thread be moved to emergency/disease forum, might get more answers there.

 

[curlybird]

Not long after she laid those yolks she perked up again and her tail went back up.

We believe both hens have been laying, when they first started we were finding eggs down on the ground near their food. Our other hen has been laying them in the nest box.

 

[aart]

Laying soft shell eggs can make then act way off, it must feel weird, then they perk right back up after that thing is out of them...saw it happen a couple times with my pullets this summer.

 

[curlybird]

I will keep an eye on her and hopefully she starts laying again soon.

Once they start laying how often should they lay, obviously this will vary but just to give me an idea.

 

[aart]

Well, you can hope they will lay every day or at least every few days.

 

[curlybird]

Just an update, we changed their food they were on and have given them yogurt to help and both of them are laying an egg a day now