Gross find and concerned newby.

[OldHenRN]

Sorry for my multiple questions but...
I found this upon entering the coop 2 days ago when releasing the girls to free range for the day. 2 Barred rocks, approx. 6 months old, started laying 3 weeks ago. It has been a crazy week. They free range during the day but also have available Purina Layena. I also have bowls of grit, oyster shell, organic vinegar in water, garlic 1 x month in food and I mix hot water into a couple small bowls of feed every morning for something warm for them to munch on. They have suet feeders x 2 and I have those yellow round balls I fill with mealworms for them to play with if I oversleep to prevent boredom. I have 4 chicks; 2 barred rocks and 2 golden comets. Barred rocks have been laying now for about 3 weeks; small beige eggs about 6 out of 7 days / week. The comets are about 14 weeks old.
Today I found an egg on the floor of their run (perfect egg) in front of one area they go to lay their eggs (there are 6 for 4 girls). There has been 2 days this week with no eggs. Neither layers have picked “a” spot as a favorite. Of the 6 choices, in 3 I have found eggs.
They are in a 12 x 12 shed, the barred rocks roost at night in an Eglu Cube by Omlet, Inc. We had purchased the Eglu, then I humanized my chickens and now the Iglu is in the middle of my former she shed bc I wanted better protection and a nicer living environment for them. The shed has 2 windows, one I leave slightly cracked open at the top, a ceramic wall heater if needed this winter and a metal heating pad to keep the water from freezing. The floor has straw bedding which I turn it over every week after cleaning and disinfecting the Iglu poo tray. I also use DE occasionally in their food. Their vents are a pale yellowish color and seem to be ok. Their first couple of eggs had a little blood speck in the yokes but none since and no eggs have ever had poop on them.

• Are my babies ok? I am quite nervous about them. What is happening?
• Any advice or suggestions? BTW their poop is very large and normal looking.
• Do they sit on a nest even though they don't have an egg to lay that day? (Found no egg after hen on nest for 2 hours). It seems my hens go sit in a nest everyday. Could be by 1000 am or as late as 3pm.How long does it take to lay an egg? When should I worry.
• How many days will a hen go without laying an egg.
• Do they squawk before or after laying. I will go out to look for an egg when I hear them carrying on and sometimes there is no egg to be found.
• My hens don’t use a roost at night. They do at time during the day (3 different areas provided). The 2 older girls go into the Iglu to sleep and sometimes the Comets will sleep in their old cage now on top of an old Indiana cupboard bottom (door is off) or in one of the nesting boxes on top of their cage. They don't seem to like to sleep together, but so at times.

Have 2, 13 week Comets, Polly and Dolly. The 4 have been together now for about 3 months. The barred chase them away from the AM food and sometimes the other goodies. The Comets are still very skittish of the older 2. When the Comets were being introduced the older girls were not very nice. I introduced them as you all suggested; large dog cage out during the day so they could see one another. I even tried to put them in together after everyone went to sleep. That went ok, I hope, but the Comets have a fit if I try and put them all together in the Iglu at night to sleep so I just said the heck with it and let them sleep where ever. Should I make them sleep together? There is a door I can shut to lock them all in. The weather hasn’t gotten below 30 yet but weather is expected to get really cold.
Also, the barred rocks, Holly and Molly, constantly have white dried poop on lower butt feathers (their poop are HUGE, about size of half of my palm). Gross, but I wash it off in the sink a couple ties a week when it get bad.

Thank you so much for this wonderful site!!!!!!! What a Blessing you all are!!!

 

[Pork Pie]

Here's my input your questions

• Are my babies ok? I am quite nervous about them. What is happening?

Birds new to laying often lay funky eggs. This link should help -
http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/common-egg-quality-problems

• Do they sit on a nest even though they don't have an egg to lay that day? (Found no egg after hen on nest for 2 hours). It seems my hens go sit in a nest everyday. Could be by 1000 am or as late as 3pm.How long does it take to lay an egg? When should I worry.

Since they are new to laying, it's likely that they are a little confused about the laying game

• How many days will a hen go without laying an egg.

Particularly for new layers , there's no set period. Don't worry about it.

• Do they squawk before or after laying. I will go out to look for an egg when I hear them carrying on and sometimes there is no egg to be found.

They often give you an egg-song after laying and it's not uncommon to hear the same noise even if no egg has been laid.

• My hens don’t use a roost at night. They do at time during the day (3 different areas provided). The 2 older girls go into the Iglu to sleep and sometimes the Comets will sleep in their old cage now on top of an old Indiana cupboard bottom (door is off) or in one of the nesting boxes on top of their cage. They don't seem to like to sleep together, but so at times.

I'd suggest reading through this link - http://www.backyardchickens.com/a/how-much-room-do-chickens-need

 

[sevenfatcows]

That looks like a shell-less egg with a bit of extra membrane. Since your birds are so young, it is probably just a weird egg due to being new layers. Sometimes it takes a few weeks for the hen's body to get into the swing of it.
In answer to some of your other questions: It is not unusual for a hen to hang out on the nest for a good long while and not lay an egg. Two hours is not abnormal; it's cozy in the nest.
Different breeds of hens lay according to different frequencies. An excellent production layer may lay an egg each day, while another type will lay just a couple per week, and that also may vary according to the individual bird. I had a little hybrid cross of Australorp and Buff Orpington who laid 21 in a row and then took a day off and repeated the feat over and over during the months of her peak production. Even at three years of age, she would lay 4 eggs per week. Now she's retired and no longer a layer.
Some hens make a bunch of racket after they lay an egg; others are noisy before, especially if someone is in their preferred nest box and they have to wait.
It takes about 26 hours for an egg to pass all the way through the stages of the oviduct. It is an interesting process, kind of like a car wash, at least that's the way I think about it.
As to roosting, I usually let them do as they please. As a rule, most will decide to roost in the conventional way when they are ready, but some will insist on nesting on the floor.
It sounds like you take very good care of your flock; they are lucky girls. Be at peace-they are probably just fine.

 

[aart]

Looks like most your questions have been answered, so I won't repeat.
Hopefully that funky egg is just a glitch.
Love your screen name wordplay, Welcome to BYC!

I'd lose the ACV and don't put the garlic in the feed.
Chickens don't care about warm food, that's more for the keeper.
Poopy butts might benefit.
Some need a bit of trimming back there to reduce 'sticking'.

As far as the roosting, seeing pics of your coop and run would help spot any problems and make it much easier to suggest solutions.
First thought is to remove the eglu out of the equation,
providing you have adequate roost space in the 12 x 12 coop.
Oh, adding your location to your profile helps immensely,
climate can be a huge consideration.

 

[nomirawr1]

Some hens make a bunch of racket after they lay an egg; others are noisy before, especially if someone is in their preferred nest box and they have to wait.

Yours wait? Mine just climb ontop of each other and go right ahead and lay on the other chooks head! I've had 3 smooshed into one nesting box at one point (with 2 empty nesting boxes next door to it!)

 

[sevenfatcows]

Very rarely will mine share a box, more often, a senior hen forces the lower status bird out. Then the complaining really gets going.