Egg Issue

[UrbanChickenMama]

Hi All,

My red spotted sussex, Talula is about 6 months old and started laying back in early November. She was doing great; laying every other day. Then she layed this HUGE egg compared to all her others and now seems to be having trouble getting back into routine.

We were gone Wednesday through Saturday evening for the holiday and there were NO eggs of hers in the carton that the neighbor was collecting. I can tell by color with my three girls.

I just found an egg shell on the bottom of the hen house floor. Its her's, but its really weak - like paper. I found another one like that a week or so ago - just after the humongous egg.


Some facts about us:
-She's fed a 16% protein organic layers pellet.
-She's free range in my 9K sq foot backyard.
-I have artificial light that has seemed to be helping them continue to lay with the lesser daylight hours -- the other two seem to be fine.
-No illness... etc...

So do you think she's eating them or do you think that she's laying really weak eggs that are being kicked (or laid) out of the box?

What can I do to help? More protein, oyster shells, ....

 

[UrbanChickenMama]

OK, so after writing this, I got curious and went out and made the best of my last 10 minutes of daylight. After stirring around the deep litter we have in the bottom of the coop. I found about 4 more of these paper shelled eggs.

I also forgot to mention that i have one girl (the cochin) that is determined to go broody on me. So I"m wondering if she's inhibiting the sussex from laying IN the box. They all seem to be directly outside the box, as in she could have laid them while standing in the box with her chicky-bum sticking out.

help?

 

[sewincircle]

Hey, its Jeanmarie from DG!
How many nesting boxes do you have?
Oyster shells wouldnt hurt.
She was laying in the boxes before though? hmmmm.... curious!

 

[momofdrew]

maybe the huge egg depleted her calcium??? I would put some oyster shell out anyway they know when they need take some...could the other bird be tossing the eggs out of the nest???

 

[UrbanChickenMama]

Hi sewincircle!
I just have 1 nesting box, because I read that I only need on per 4 birds and I can only have 3 in the city limits.
Yah, she was laying in the box, and now she's not.

momofdrew,
its possible, although my poor cochin is so desperate to hatch something she sits on anything. everyday I go in there and she's got her egg and the americauna's under her.

Even if they were being thrown out, they are really weak shelled.

About the oyster shell, the stuff I bought is HUGE pieces... I mean some bigger than a pea in circumference... is that normal??? I figured it'd be more ground up than that. The girls don't seem to like it too much.

 

[gritsar]

I would add oyster shell. Also, offer another nest box if you only have one. Yes, technically you only need one next box with three hens, but if you have one that's being a little witch about it then it wouldn't hurt for the other girls to have an option.

 

[sewincircle]

Moody broody girl seems to need a nest of her own...LOL
Yes usually one would be plenty. I have 4 and they only use 1!
What a waste. hehehe
I have some and it is more ground up. Anyone else know why its so big chunky? (oyster shells)
Could you go to a Byrne Dairy and get a milk crate for now? You could make a "make shift" nesting box for the sweet girl. My dad uses them regularly. funny watching them get in it to lay but they do. Just add a nest of hay.

 

[UrbanChickenMama]

I agree about the nesting box. I wasn't sure though, since half the time I open up the box and there are two girls in there at once. So it didn't seem to be a problem until recently. --could they be kicking out the "defective" eggs?--

My coop has an external nesting box built into it. So if I add another its going to have to just sit on the floor of the already very small coop. So I'd been dragging my feet on that one.

So this is a separate topic, but what about breaking the broodiness? I'd been trying (and was pretty successful) until I had to leave to Turkey Day. I'd been just throwing her out of the box whenever I caught her in there and taking the eggs immediately. Any other thoughts???

Gritsar,
I had the same question, what do you define as small?

 

[sewincircle]

Breaking Broody...

I have never had a broody girl...Mine are only in the nesting box long enough to lay!
Sorry.

 

[UrbanChickenMama]

ha! lucky you! I didn't know that cochin's were the 2nd broodiest hen there was, only 2nd to silkies.

Poor Lacey would probably try to hatch a rock if she could! HA!