- Jun 25, 2011
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We recently aquired a flock of 12 laying hens, all past their prime. The oldest bird in the group is an Araucana, reportedly at least 3 years old. We have had the birds for over 3 weeks now and they have finally seemed to settle in and start laying. We have the birds on 14 hours of daylight and are starting to collect between 4 to 6 eggs a day. The Araucana gave us her first egg yesterday and when opened, it contained a yolk, cloudy egg white, and a greenish grey, formed, soft glob (about 2-3 cm long). We discarded the egg. Today, she gave us two eggs! Both had very small flecks of the same greenish grey, soft goo in the egg white (not nearly as large or well formed as the first one). What is this goo? Is she just too old to lay healthy eggs? I was surprised to get three eggs from her within two days... is it too stressful for her to be exposed to 14 hours light? Any advice is much appreciated. We have raised broliers and turkeys, but this is our first flock of laying hens. Thank you!
