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Do chickens lay eggs in their sleep?

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Tmelton

Tmelton

Hatching
Sep 28, 2016
4
0
9
Huntly,Virginia
Thank you so much for adding me! I am new to raising chickens, we got our eight Barred Rocks as day old chicks in April. They have been laying for a month now, but three times now I have discovered an egg in the "poop hammock" that we made to hang under their roost. I'm not sure if I have a girl that is laying in her sleep or just too lazy to go into the nesting box? I have no idea which one it is and don't even know if this is a problem! The egg doesn't crack because it has so short a distance to fall (and usually the fall is softened by the poop). Should I be concerned? The hammock is cleaned every day and I collect the eggs throughout the day, I have only discovered these eggs first thing in the morning. Any thoughts?
 
Hi and welcome to BYC - thanks for joining us. It's quite normal for pullets new to laying to lay whilst roosting. It can take a while for them to sort out their "plumbing" and if the urge to lay comes during the night, they will not be inclined to move and just pop one out, where they are.

Best wishes
CT
 
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x2 on CTKen's comments...just give them a little time to figure out what goes where and they should be fine. You might try putting a wooden or plastic egg in the nesting box to make it more obvious where their eggs should go.

Thanks for joining us!
 
Greetings from Kansas and :welcome. Great to have you in our community! I agree with the above advice. There have been occasions, although rare, where I open the coop in the a.m. and there is an egg on the floor under the roosts that was not there when I put them to bed the night before. Just an anomaly...nothing to be be too concerned about. Like I said, 3-4 times per year is all. Best wishes!
 
I think I have a hen who is "egg-continent". I will find her eggs in the strangest places, usually under the roost but once on the ramp leading to the pen yard, resting on one of the footing cleats!! Once in the middle of their grassy enclosure, sometimes under a tree or in the fenced in portion of the coop yard. Sometimes in the nest box but more often than not just in random spots. The eggs look perfectly normal inside and out. I don't know what her issue is but it keeps me guessing! She is the dominant hen and there are plenty of nest boxes so I don't think she is being chased away from the right spots to lay. I do have a SSH that hides her eggs, but this bird's eggs are just any old place including right out in the open so I don't think she's being secretive. I think she just can't tell when it's happening. Kind of like those " I didn't know I was pregnant" shows
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Like Montanachickdoc I also have a hen that seems to be egg-incontinent. This is her second season laying, and the eggs may be in the nest box, but sometimes near the nest box, or on the coop porch, in the run, and even under the roost as if she laid one in her sleep. She does sit on the nest but just as often as not, the egg will end up elsewhere. Maybe it doesn't come out until she gets up and walks? Maybe the top hen rousts her out of the box.....(there are other boxes but no one uses them.)
BTW, Tmelton, welcome to BYC! Be sure to check out the learning center, and also the wealth of information in the forum archives. Good luck on your chicken adventure!
 
I think it's possible for her to lay eggs without realizing it. She might be one of the lucky ones, that doesn't have to push them. Does she lay small eggs?
 
I'm sorry, I've tried to reply to your response twice now and I'm not quite sure what I'm doing wrong! Yes, the eggs I'm finding in the poop hammock are smaller!
 

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