Eggs while roosting

[Chrissy D]

I have 11 hens well only one has started laying at 19weeks, so I guess I still mainly have pullets. For the last 10 days I’ve gotten 9 normal eggs. Be it small little eggs. But for the last two nights my girl is dropping an egg at night when on the roost. The two she has done this with seemed to maybe be a little soft shelled. They are on a balanced organic diet and have oyster shells. Out of everything I read prior to getting these birds, I didn’t read anything about this. Please advise.

 

[Ridgerunner]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

The egg laying process is pretty complicated. That's not just putting the egg together correctly but also in knowing when and where to lay. Most pullets seem to get all that right when they first start to lay but some can have issues with any of that. They tend to get all the bugs out of their system fairly quickly, say within a week or two if not sooner, but every now and then you have one that never seems to get it totally right. Either their body isn't quite put together the right way or their instincts are just off. From what you write I think it is highly likely she just needs more time.

The soft or thin shells are most likely that her instincts to eat the oyster shell haven't kicked in, her body isn't processing the calcium she eats properly, or her shell gland isn't working right yet. It's not unusual for a pullet just starting to lay to lay some really weird eggs. Those could be soft-shelled, thin-shelled, really thick shells, double yolked eggs, no yolks (just whites), all yolks and no whites, or some other things that are just weird. Be patient with that.

Some pullets seem to realize that they will soon be laying and look for a good place to lay an egg as much as a week before they start laying. That way they are ready. But some seem to be surprised when an egg pops out, that can happen anywhere, on the roost or walking around the coop or run. Since it is happening at night this is probably not it.

It takes about 25 hours for an egg to go through her internal egg making factory from when the yolk is released until the egg pops out. There are certain triggers that tell a hen or pullet when to release that yolk so it will be laid during daylight hours. Your pullet probably hasn't worked the bugs out of her triggering system so she gets surprised by an egg at night.

When I have an issue with the flock I try to determine if it is a flock-wide problem or an individual chicken problem. That way I don't mess up all the others if they are going great because of one chicken. It sounds like all your others are doing great. I would not change the way I feed them because of this one pullet.

My usual approach to something like this is to be patient. Give her time to work the kinks out of her internal egg making factory. The vast majority of them do. If you are still having issues with her after say two weeks there may be something wrong with her. But if the others are doing great it is not because of anything you are doing and it is not a flock wide problem. You may have a defective pullet.

 

[Chrissy D]

Welcome to the forum, glad you joined.

The egg laying process is pretty complicated. That's not just putting the egg together correctly but also in knowing when and where to lay. Most pullets seem to get all that right when they first start to lay but some can have issues with any of that. They tend to get all the bugs out of their system fairly quickly, say within a week or two if not sooner, but every now and then you have one that never seems to get it totally right. Either their body isn't quite put together the right way or their instincts are just off. From what you write I think it is highly likely she just needs more time.

The soft or thin shells are most likely that her instincts to eat the oyster shell haven't kicked in, her body isn't processing the calcium she eats properly, or her shell gland isn't working right yet. It's not unusual for a pullet just starting to lay to lay some really weird eggs. Those could be soft-shelled, thin-shelled, really thick shells, double yolked eggs, no yolks (just whites), all yolks and no whites, or some other things that are just weird. Be patient with that.

Some pullets seem to realize that they will soon be laying and look for a good place to lay an egg as much as a week before they start laying. That way they are ready. But some seem to be surprised when an egg pops out, that can happen anywhere, on the roost or walking around the coop or run. Since it is happening at night this is probably not it.

It takes about 25 hours for an egg to go through her internal egg making factory from when the yolk is released until the egg pops out. There are certain triggers that tell a hen or pullet when to release that yolk so it will be laid during daylight hours. Your pullet probably hasn't worked the bugs out of her triggering system so she gets surprised by an egg at night.

When I have an issue with the flock I try to determine if it is a flock-wide problem or an individual chicken problem. That way I don't mess up all the others if they are going great because of one chicken. It sounds like all your others are doing great. I would not change the way I feed them because of this one pullet.

My usual approach to something like this is to be patient. Give her time to work the kinks out of her internal egg making factory. The vast majority of them do. If you are still having issues with her after say two weeks there may be something wrong with her. But if the others are doing great it is not because of anything you are doing and it is not a flock wide problem. You may have a defective pullet.

What great insight and information. Thank you. I’ll vigilantly keep watch. Thanks again.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

A few soft shelled eggs and dropping the eggs from the roost are both common in young pullets. If she continues to lay soft shelled eggs often after several weeks she my have a problem. But it’s unlikely. I collected more eggs from under the roost than in the nesting boxes the first couple of weeks with my flock.

 

[Chrissy D]

A few soft shelled eggs and dropping the eggs from the roost are both common in young pullets. If she continues to lay soft shelled eggs often after several weeks she my have a problem. But it’s unlikely. I collected more eggs from under the roost than in the nesting boxes the first couple of weeks with my flock.

Thank you. I was just taken aback as she had 9 eggs in the nesting box prior to these two roost eggs. So appreciate the info. Really, thanks a bunch.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Thank you. I was just taken aback as she had 9 eggs in the nesting box prior to these two roost eggs. So appreciate the info. Really, thanks a bunch.

No problem! Also I put some extra straw under the roost for a few months. It keeps the eggs that get dropped from cracking!

 

[aart]

They are on a balanced organic diet and have oyster shells.

What exactly does this mean?
What all and how exactly are you feeding?

What is the main feed, brand/model/calcium and protein percentages?
Is it a mash, crumbles, pellets, or cracked grains formulation?

Are they consuming the OS?
Might one of the other birds now be laying?

They are all still pullets, until one year of age.
FYI-PSA.....semantics, maybe, but can be important communication terms when discussing chicken behavior.
Female chickens are called pullets until one year of age, then they are called hens.
Male chickens are called cockerels until one year of age, then they are called cocks(or cockbirds or roosters).
Age in weeks or months is always a good thing to note.

Oh, and.... Welcome to BYC! @Chrissy D
Where in this world are you located?
Climate, and time of year, is almost always a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, and then it's always there!

 

[Chrissy D]

Good Morning. Thanks for the info. I’m in Magnolia, Tx. NW Houston by about 40 miles. Our days are getting longer now.

I feed New Country Organics layer crumble. 17% protein, 4.2% calcium. I also ferment grain layer feed from grubblys at 16% protein and 4% calcium. I recently switched them over as this pullet was first to lay at 19 weeks. I thought I read somewhere that once they start laying they were considered a hen. Thanks for that info. I’ve read so much I probably have mixed that up. I have a feeder that I fill and the birds free feed all day. I also feed veggies straight out of my garden daily mainly leafy greens and give them occasional treats from the kitchen. I do give them a small about of scratch every few days too. Man it’s sounds like they eat better than we do.

it just surprised me as this girl laid 9 eggs in 10 days perfectly. I guess I expected if there was a problem it would be from the start. I know better than to do that.

Wondering if I should mix the oyster shells in with the feed for a bit. I have seen all of the birds taking in the oyster shells. I may try baking some of the eggs shells soon and feeding as well.

thanks again. Al of this is so helpful.

 

[Artichoke Lover]

Good Morning. Thanks for the info. I’m in Magnolia, Tx. NW Houston by about 40 miles. Our days are getting longer now.

I feed New Country Organics layer crumble. 17% protein, 4.2% calcium. I also ferment grain layer feed from grubblys at 16% protein and 4% calcium. I recently switched them over as this pullet was first to lay at 19 weeks. I thought I read somewhere that once they start laying they were considered a hen. Thanks for that info. I’ve read so much I probably have mixed that up. I have a feeder that I fill and the birds free feed all day. I also feed veggies straight out of my garden daily mainly leafy greens and give them occasional treats from the kitchen. I do give them a small about of scratch every few days too. Man it’s sounds like they eat better than we do.

it just surprised me as this girl laid 9 eggs in 10 days perfectly. I guess I expected if there was a problem it would be from the start. I know better than to do that.

Wondering if I should mix the oyster shells in with the feed for a bit. I have seen all of the birds taking in the oyster shells. I may try baking some of the eggs shells soon and feeding as well.

thanks again. Al of this is so helpful.

It’s almost impossible for that to be one bird laying. That sounds like 2 or more are laying. Very good production from grown hens is 6 days on 1 day off. Pullets are usually very spotty the first month or so. Have you actually seen her lay the eggs or could there be more laying?

 

[aart]

Wondering if I should mix the oyster shells in with the feed for a bit. I have seen all of the birds taking in the oyster shells. I may try baking some of the eggs shells soon and feeding as well.

Not good to mix OS into feed.
And doesn't sound like you need to do anything if they are eating it out of a separate feeder.
No need to bake the shells either. I let air dry then crush and mix into OS feeder.