- Feb 23, 2014
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Okay, I've had this happening with my small flock of 10 birds. They are a mixture of 1 Golden Lace, 4 Rhode Island Reds and 5 cinnamon queens. So each lay slightly different colored eggs (very light brown, a salmon color and dark browns...the dark one comes from Betty my single Golden Lace).
My girls free range the property, always coming back in their run at night to roost.
A few months ago, I had one of them hiding out int he bushes. Every time she approached the flock, my rooster Nugget, and the other girls would chase her off, lots of sqwaking and pecking. I took a look at her, and she looked okay, other than seeming to be stressed out. Her behavior was normal except for hiding out away from the roost. So I made sure to leave her some food and water where she could get to it.
About a week later, I found a cache of eggs she had been laying. about 10 of them. The color of the eggs matched her (she was one of the Reds). I was happy to find these eggs and took them in, cleaned them up, and did the water test on them since I was not sure how long they'd been there. Only one of them floated, so I tossed it. The rest looked okay...until......I stated cooking breakfast and using the eggs. First too came out okay, the third? OMG.....liquid pus!
Well that ruined breakfast!
So I decided to crack them all open. Out of the 9 left, 4 looked fine, the other 6 were pus filled....YUCK!. I tossed them all.
About another week goes by and she was accepted back into the flock....I checked all my eggs though, very paranoid that I would get another pus filled one (I lost my taste for eggs for a while after that!). All eggs were fine, and she was with the flock again like nothing had happened.
Then about a month ago, I found another cache of eggs. This one with different colored eggs, meaning more than one of my girls were using it. I gathered the eggs, and again checked them. A few floated so I tossed them. Learning my lesson from the first time, I cracked open the eggs into bowls to check them. Sure enough, several were puss filled.
However, none of the hens had been alienated from the flock. I chocked it up to one had been sick, and was over it.
So back to just getting eggs in the chicken run again, as that is where they normally lay.
Over the past week, I noticed that egg production had dropped to darn near zero. The birds are molting yet, as fall is coming, and they are all acting fine. So I went out in the yard searching, and sure enough, I found another cache, this one close to the pen this time.
One of my big fat cinnamon queens, Amber, was nesting there. I lifted her up and there were 20 eggs, all various colors again.......No one is chasing her from the flock, and again, the eggs are a mixture. They tend to lay their eggs in each other's nest in the pen also.
So I gathered them (she wasn't happy about that, heh), brought them in and clean them up. I water tested all of them and not one of them floated.
But now I'm sitting here looking at them....paranoid to crack even one open!
Can anyone tell me what is going on? I would think if a chicken was laying pus filled eggs, it would show some sign of being sick.....but they don't (other than the one time they were chased off from the flock for a couple of weeks...then allowed back in).
Also: is there any other way to check these eggs?
Since I let the free range, I don't have an issue with them deciding to lay in other places if they want to. But I am concerned about popping open another very gross pus filled egg.
My girls free range the property, always coming back in their run at night to roost.
A few months ago, I had one of them hiding out int he bushes. Every time she approached the flock, my rooster Nugget, and the other girls would chase her off, lots of sqwaking and pecking. I took a look at her, and she looked okay, other than seeming to be stressed out. Her behavior was normal except for hiding out away from the roost. So I made sure to leave her some food and water where she could get to it.
About a week later, I found a cache of eggs she had been laying. about 10 of them. The color of the eggs matched her (she was one of the Reds). I was happy to find these eggs and took them in, cleaned them up, and did the water test on them since I was not sure how long they'd been there. Only one of them floated, so I tossed it. The rest looked okay...until......I stated cooking breakfast and using the eggs. First too came out okay, the third? OMG.....liquid pus!
Well that ruined breakfast!
So I decided to crack them all open. Out of the 9 left, 4 looked fine, the other 6 were pus filled....YUCK!. I tossed them all.
About another week goes by and she was accepted back into the flock....I checked all my eggs though, very paranoid that I would get another pus filled one (I lost my taste for eggs for a while after that!). All eggs were fine, and she was with the flock again like nothing had happened.
Then about a month ago, I found another cache of eggs. This one with different colored eggs, meaning more than one of my girls were using it. I gathered the eggs, and again checked them. A few floated so I tossed them. Learning my lesson from the first time, I cracked open the eggs into bowls to check them. Sure enough, several were puss filled.
However, none of the hens had been alienated from the flock. I chocked it up to one had been sick, and was over it.
So back to just getting eggs in the chicken run again, as that is where they normally lay.
Over the past week, I noticed that egg production had dropped to darn near zero. The birds are molting yet, as fall is coming, and they are all acting fine. So I went out in the yard searching, and sure enough, I found another cache, this one close to the pen this time.
One of my big fat cinnamon queens, Amber, was nesting there. I lifted her up and there were 20 eggs, all various colors again.......No one is chasing her from the flock, and again, the eggs are a mixture. They tend to lay their eggs in each other's nest in the pen also.
So I gathered them (she wasn't happy about that, heh), brought them in and clean them up. I water tested all of them and not one of them floated.
But now I'm sitting here looking at them....paranoid to crack even one open!
Can anyone tell me what is going on? I would think if a chicken was laying pus filled eggs, it would show some sign of being sick.....but they don't (other than the one time they were chased off from the flock for a couple of weeks...then allowed back in).
Also: is there any other way to check these eggs?
Since I let the free range, I don't have an issue with them deciding to lay in other places if they want to. But I am concerned about popping open another very gross pus filled egg.
