Can you interrupt an egg laying moment?

[Mr Grandcanyon]

Hi all you knowledgable folks...

Tonight, as I was closing up the pen, I missed one of my hens. I opened one of the nesting boxes and there she was! Gave me the EVIL EYE! Next thing I knew, she was standing at the door of the coop looking angrily at me!

Once before, at a time earlier in the day, I "interrupted" one in the nesting boxes. She immediately left too. But later that day someone gave me an egg.

So if you accidently interrupt them... can they put the brakes on the egglaying process immediately? Will this lead to problems?

Inquiring minds need to know:/

Joe

 

[schmije]

I don't know about putting on the brakes, but I often walk in the coop to find one or more girls sitting in nest boxes. I typically try not to mess with them, because I don't want to encourage them to find somewhere else to lay their eggs. Also, I know which hens I can mess with, and which ones completely freak out and run out of the coop. There have been plenty of times when one ran out of a nest box, then came back later to lay the egg. I've also had them stand up and drop the egg right in front of me. I don't understand the biology of how it works, but I do know that they often spend a half hour sitting and scratching in the nest before they lay anything. Maybe you caught them when they weren't quite ready.

 

[dulcimer lady]

I've done it before. Never seemed to hurt anything. Sometimes they get up and walk away, but most times several of my hens will let me very slowly and gently move my hand underneath them to grab any eggs they may be sitting on. I have had one dropped right in my hand doing that a time or two. I would say go ahead and do it if you need to. If that egg needs to come out, it will even if you interrupt the process.

 

[AllAlaskan]

I think you can, I had this very think happen today. I walked into the coop and my wyndotte (only daily layer atm) was in the box so i went outside and threw down some corn for the other birds she came running out. I went in no egg....after 5 mins she went back inside the coop and came out 5 mins later so I went in and sure enuph, there was an egg. I dont know for sure but I think you can interupt them, but if there ganna lay that egg, I think they will just come back a little bit later and lay it.