Delaware chicken weird behavior?

[Curlyhomestylemama]

I have a Delaware hen who has been having a hard time laying eggs constantly. In fact a lot of my chickens have been inconsistent. No hidden nests that we can tell nor any predators.

My Delaware specifically will sit for a while in the boxes or under a tree, making sounds and rear end movement like she’s working up to lay an egg. Then nothing. We’ve found soft shelled eggs for a while now off/on. We have checked her for egg bounding multiple times.

Am I missing something? She seems uncomfortable and acts like she wants to lay yet is having a difficult time. What can I do to help her?

She also has had a history of poppy butt. No matter how many times we clean her she keeps having poopy butt. Is this something we are doing or is it just something with her specifically? We don’t know if she has a poor genetic condition or not. She was purchased from a local who might be having too closed gene pools for breeding types.

 

[EggSighted4Life]

Am I missing something? She seems uncomfortable and acts like she wants to lay yet is having a difficult time. What can I do to help her?

Welcome to BYC!

What is her age and feed routine including treats and supplements?

Have you ever wormed or had a fecal float done to check internal parasite load?

How does the abdomen feel below the vent.. is it swollen or puffy, any signs of extra junk in her trunk.. aka.. internal laying (EYP), ascites, etc..

Hope she feels better and you find answers!

 

[WingsysRoost]

You might want to check them for mites. I've been dealing with an awful mite infestation and I've noticed an increase in soft eggs and thin-shelled eggs. The mites basically take all the energy (and vital nutrients) that they would normally be using to form eggs, and thin or soft shells means more difficulty laying. It could also explain the messy feathers under the vent.

 

[Curlyhomestylemama]

Welcome to BYC!

What is her age and feed routine including treats and supplements?

Have you ever wormed or had a fecal float done to check internal parasite load?

How does the abdomen feel below the vent.. is it swollen or puffy, any signs of extra junk in her trunk.. aka.. internal laying (EYP), ascites, etc..

Hope she feels better and you find answers!

well feed wise we have a feed bucket with access 24/7 in their run. “Treats” are kitchen scraps for chicken friendly items. We add electrolytes to their water periodically especially in extreme weather or flock transitions.
I’ve not checked for internal parasites and honestly don’t know how to. Could you elaborate?
And yes she always looks like she has extra junk in her trunk. Very bottom heavy. Thought it was a breed thing since when we check her for egg bounding we find nothing. I gave her a good cleaning and booty massage a week a go and it did nothing.

 

[aart]

feed wise we have a feed bucket with access 24/7 in their run.

What kind of feed, brand/model and protein and calcium percentages??

They can act very strange when a softie is moving down the pike,
can take longer to make it's way out due to no hard surface for contractions to work with.

 

[Mrs. K]

Laying issues is predominately a genetic issue. A goof in the laying mechanism. A good diet is important, and generally supports good laying, but it is not a cure all.

I would not hatch this birds eggs, and I would not expect her to have a long life. I think you do have issues, but I don't see a change in diet fixing it. If you cull your birds once a year, I would put her on the list to go.

Some people give them calcium tablets and swear by them. I am not so sure. Sometimes laying issues cure themselves, sometimes they don't.

Mrs K

 

[RadEggs]

well feed wise we have a feed bucket with access 24/7 in their run. “Treats” are kitchen scraps for chicken friendly items. We add electrolytes to their water periodically especially in extreme weather or flock transitions.
I’ve not checked for internal parasites and honestly don’t know how to. Could you elaborate?
And yes she always looks like she has extra junk in her trunk. Very bottom heavy. Thought it was a breed thing since when we check her for egg bounding we find nothing. I gave her a good cleaning and booty massage a week a go and it did nothing.

That could be vent gleet. I would look into it.

 

[Curlyhomestylemama]

That could be vent gleet. I would look into it.

Thank you. We previously had a rooster who over mated many of our hens. He was too aggressive so he had to go. It’s now been a few weeks. We started apple cider vinegar yesterday to cover bases of worms even though I see no signs of them in their droppings.
Could vent gleet lead to internal laying? That is our current theory.

Laying issues is predominately a genetic issue. A goof in the laying mechanism. A good diet is important, and generally supports good laying, but it is not a cure all.

I would not hatch this birds eggs, and I would not expect her to have a long life. I think you do have issues, but I don't see a change in diet fixing it. If you cull your birds once a year, I would put her on the list to go.

Some people give them calcium tablets and swear by them. I am not so sure. Sometimes laying issues cure themselves, sometimes they don't.

Mrs K

After lots of reading last night we are thinking our Delaware has poor genetics causing internal laying. It’s the only thing that makes sense for all the symptoms we’re seeing with our Delaware.
We had been using a non GMO layer feed that we thought was best. We were having major inconsistencies in laying for a while. So last week we switched to a higher protein/calcium feed that is specifically raved at being amazing for laying. It’s only been a week since we switched.

 

[Mrs. K]

If the feed switch works, it should before 10 days after the change. If not, and I really do not expect it to, but it might, I don't think you can do much, except bath her occasionally, and not expect eggs from her, and keep an eye on her to make sure she is not suffering.