Chicken Not Laying In Nesting Box

[lizardboy55]

Hello,

So my one amberlink who is usually pretty good is not laying in the nesting box. She lays on the ground and pecks the top but not to the point that its leaking but i cannot but it in the fridge. I tried the decoy egg and it does not work for her, but for all the other ones it does. Any ideas?

Thanks!

 

[chooks4life]

Use human nailclippers and trim the seethrough edge off the top beak. If you don't cut into the opaque part it won't hurt her, she'll continue to eat and drink normally, but it will prevent her smashing the shells. Bit like when you trim your nail a little too far and it doesn't hurt until you try to apply significant force with your finger, when you get a dull pain. It will of course grow back but it can be enough to break the habit permanently.

Best wishes.

 

[lizardboy55]

Use human nailclippers and trim the seethrough edge off the top beak. If you don't cut into the opaque part it won't hurt her, she'll continue to eat and drink normally, but it will prevent her smashing the shells. Bit like when you trim your nail a little too far and it doesn't hurt until you try to apply significant force with your finger, when you get a dull pain. It will of course grow back but it can be enough to break the habit permanently.

Best wishes.

I watched her do it today and non of them peck at it (i set up a camera to see just cause) and i found out that she does not squat down to lay it she just lays it. So they don't peck it the force to ground is what dents it. At least their not egg eaters, lol.

Will their beaks grow back thought?

Thanks

 

[Ol Grey Mare]

I watched her do it today and non of them peck at it (i set up a camera to see just cause) and i found out that she does not squat down to lay it she just lays it. So they don't peck it the force to ground is what dents it. At least their not egg eaters, lol.

Will their beaks grow back thought?

Thanks

Usually, an egg with a good, strong shell on it should be able to take the force of impact from a standing height chicken to the ground - how are the shells on her eggs?

 

[lizardboy55]

Usually, an egg with a good, strong shell on it should be able to take the force of impact from a standing height chicken to the ground - how are the shells on her eggs?

They are usually pretty strong (they are hard to crack open with a fork) Hers have a much more pointy top compared to the others, could this be why they are denting?

Thanks Again

 

[chooks4life]

I watched her do it today and non of them peck at it (i set up a camera to see just cause) and i found out that she does not squat down to lay it she just lays it. So they don't peck it the force to ground is what dents it. At least their not egg eaters, lol.

I haven't seen a hen lay while lying down; they all stand at the end, in my experience.

If your eggs are truly healthy they should be able to tolerate dropping from 6 feet onto the soil, never mind an inch or two; in fact they can tolerate being repeatedly slammed into the ground, thrown a hundred feet and bouncing off rocks, trees etc... They can actually be hilariously hard to break.

I suspect, going from what you're saying, your other hens are laying good eggs but this hen is laying weak ones and has learned she can eat them precisely because they break under situations that would not break normal eggs.

Chooks soon learn that not all eggs are equal, given a chance, and will make a habit of tapping all eggs to see which break open. From there it doesn't take much for them to learn that sufficient force breaks any egg; the sharp, small surface area impacts that beaks cause are something eggs can't tolerate anywhere near as well as blunt large surface area impacts like hitting the soil or a nest.

Will their beaks grow back thought?

Yes, second last line of my previous post confirmed that; they grow back quickly, just like spur tips and claw tips. You'd have to cut into the quick to stop it growing so fast, which is inhumane and obviously not something I'd recommend.

Thanks

You're welcome, best wishes with them.

 

[chooks4life]

I would suggest you look at her eggs with a torch behind them in a dark room or at night; I expect you'll see the shells are riddled with weak spots and much thinner than normal.

She needs more calcium for whatever reason, most likely, since she's laying weak shelled eggs; but sometimes it's just hormonal and there's not much you can do about it.

Could be a sign of her system fighting a disease alongside attempting to continue production as per normal; or she may have a mild injury (showing no signs, not uncommon) which is sequestering her calcium reserves so they don't go into her eggs right now at normal levels; there's a lot of potential causes. Ate something toxic, got stressed, got sick, whatever... Upping her available calcium sources may or may not help. Sounds like your other hens are getting enough so it's likely not an availability issue.

Best wishes.