Chicken lays one egg and then stops? Why?

[skatcatla]

So, my BR started giving me "the squat" well over a week-10 days ago. I figure she's going to stary laying soon. The next day, I find an egg in the next box that had a very soft shell, like skin. I figured that it was the first "practice" egg and the next ones would be better. But I don't think she's layed since..at least, no more eggs in the egg box.

Is it possible that she's laying them in the yard somewhere? I looked around over the weekend and couldn't find anything. Or is she just not laying?

 

[MamaG]

during the spring & summer my chickens lay in other places besides their box. I think they are wanting to hatch babies, but having no rooster, they don't hatch, but they hide nests through out my yard.

 

[speckledhen]

Often a new layer will lay that first one, then not lay another for a period of time, often a couple of weeks. It's just her system gearing up probably.

 

[mdbucks]

Quote:
That was my thought, when mine started I got one then none for about a week, with it being cold and not as much light it could be longer between eggs.

 

[Smitty's Farm]

Yep, the same thing happened to me. My first layer would skip some days and then sometimes lay a DBL Yolker. I think it took her a few weeks to get regulated.

How many chickens, what kind and how old are they?

 

[hb]

Hi, I'm a total newbie about raising chickens and I'm wondering about egg laying behavior. My girls are a Cucko Maran and a White Crested Black Polish Bantam. I just got my first egg from the Polish Bantam a couple of days ago and she sounded the alarm: bruck, bruck, bruck BRAAAACK! for a long time, even when I tried to talk gently to her. Then today, two days after our first egg, she was sounding the alarm because the door to the coop accidentally closed and I when I went to investigate, she seemed to want to get out, so I let them out, then she seemed to be all up tight and marched right back into her coop and looked at the different nests and then chose one and in about ten minutes, she layed her second egg, hopped right off, but didn't sound the alarm afterwards. Now, my big, girl (Cucko Maran) seems to be nesting, but I haven't found any eggs. She eats, poops, runs around just fine, so maybe any day now? My kids think that she has an egg stuck in her. We all thought that she would be the one to lay first since she seemed to mature first. Any thoughts?

 

[skatcatla]

Quote:
That was my thought, when mine started I got one then none for about a week, with it being cold and not as much light it could be longer between eggs.

Thanks guys. I was thinking the same thing. I think I was just spoiled with my first hen to start laying, because once she started she's been regular as clockwork with one egg a day!

 

[skatcatla]

Smitty's Farm :

Yep, the same thing happened to me. My first layer would skip some days and then sometimes lay a DBL Yolker. I think it took her a few weeks to get regulated.

How many chickens, what kind and how old are they?

Smitty, I have four chickens, they are all now about 21.5 weeks old. A Jersey Giant cross, who started laying at 19.5 weeks, a Barred Rock (she's the one who laid one egg and has stopped), a RIR and a Black Star. The last two have been slower to develop and so I was expecting they'd be a couple weeks behind the first two.

The BR has been doing that squatting thing for more than a week now. Her first egg was sort of a misfire, it looked perfect on the inside but the shell was very soft, like a plastic bag. That was about a week ago, so I figured she'd have laid another by now, especially with that strong squatting behavior. She didn't squat for a couple of days but gave me a squat this morning, so maybe she'll have one for me today. :-D​

 

[Smitty's Farm]

Did you get an egg from your BR? Hopefully her system will regulate soon. Just checking in!