Egg Laying During the Night PROBLEM!!

[MontanaChickenLady]

One of my hens (1 yr old), a black sex link.....and major egg layer is now laying an egg from her roost about every other night. She's been faithfully laying a huge egg every day since she started to lay. The egg has a hard shell all around it but it's definitely not like her regular egg. The egg is also broken into each time I get to it. I try going out early in the a.m. before it's light thinking I can catch her before she lays it and before she or one of the other girls is getting into it...... no luck yet. This night time laying is just not normal for her. She seems to be healthy. They all get oyster shells in their food and I've been giving them good feed since day one. I've started ramping up their protein intake.....no luck changing this behavior yet. Am I now doomed for good with a hen who is getting into her egg? She doesn't bother any of the eggs in the nesting boxes during the day and she does lay one of her own there every few days now. Thanks for any input/advice you can give me.

 

[Fred's Hens]

She is likely passing it in her sleep and is totally unaware she is doing so. Since chickens also poop in their sleep, I'm not sure there is a whole lot you can really do about this. Her clock timing is a bit out of sync. About the only thing you could try is to attempt to "re-set" her, using a light with a timer snapping on at a pre-set, early hour.

 

[MontanaChickenLady]

Thank you Fred for the information you provided. I'll give it a try to see if I can get her back in sync. Dang, and she's been my major egg layer too. Well, at least she's not being an egg eater........thanks again.