Egg laying issue

[terjul]

Hi,

I have a 7 month old White Rock, who has been laying regularly since the end of December. I've noticed that she's been starting to lay later and later in the day. Right now, it's 5:00 p.m. and she still needs to lay. She's been running from nesting box to nesting box, running all around inside the coop starting to make nests on the floor, then she'll go out in the run to stop and eat, then back in the coop to repeat all actions again. She's been doing this for a few hours now.

After she squats and starts to move the straw all around, she's up again in less than 30 seconds and runs to the next place to do it again, but she's still not laying. We're getting concerned that she might be egg bound, but she's shown no signs other than her behavior today. She hasn't been sick, she still eats like a horse and still quite our chatty Kathy. She has access to oyster shell when she wants it and I 've watched her eat it, so she's getting plenty of calcium. Is there anything we can do for her? I hate that she would go to roost in a couple hours when she's in this condition.

Any suggestions are appreciated!

 

[Granny Hatchet]

i dont know if she is egg bound or not but hens lay every 25 hrs. on average. so they will lay an hr. later every day then skip a day and reset them self the next morning. but she could be egg bound . can you see her tail flipping up and down?

 

[Happy Chooks]

Generally, it takes 25 hours to make an egg. (each hen is different, so it can vary a bit) So laying will get later and later in the day, then she'll skip a day, then start again the following morning. It's not very likely that she is egg bound. A chicken that is egg bound usually walks like a penguin.

 

[terjul]

Thank you both. She finally laid her egg at 6:00 last night.

 

[Granny Hatchet]

she will probably skip today and start over in the morn.

 

[LukensFarms]

She is stressed, and needs a nest box that makes her feel safer. Try raising the nest box, or turning it away from my doorway or window so it feels safer. Sometimes a simple round trashcan or 5 gallon bucket makes them happier.