Has anyone ever had a chicken lay three eggs in a 24 hr time frame?!

[Aislynne485]

Hi Everyone,
I have a 16 month old Red Star who was injured and has been recuperating in the garage for several weeks. Yesterday morning, she laid a large brown egg as typical. Yesterday afternoon, she laid a shell-less egg with white and yolk. This morning she laid another shell-less egg with white and yolk. I've heard of two eggs in a day but not three. She is quite pampered and has access to oyster shell and I do grind up all the girls (16) shells and add to their layer feed. Has anyone else had 3 eggs in such a short time, or do I just chalk it up to my chickens being as weird as the rest of the family?

 

[NatJ]

It just happens sometimes, although it's fairly rare.

Or at least, someone noticing is fairly rare. When there are several hens in one coop, it is less obvious when one lays extra eggs, but it was obvious with your hen because she's alone for now.

Here's a fairly recent thread about someone else's chicken laying extra eggs:
https://www.backyardchickens.com/threads/young-hen-laying-three-eggs-a-day.1486009/

 

[Lizzy733]

I'm sure them being shell less makes passing them so quickly easier. Hybrid egg birds have an overactive reproductive system. They lay a lot of eggs frequently, but this also gets them in trouble with reproductive issues.

Is their food pelleted? Does it also contain calcium aside from your additions and offering on the side?

For her, if she is otherwise acting normally, I'd recommend getting some liquid calcium with vitamin d and direct-dosing her daily for a week to see if this can sort the shell-less egg problem. One of my girls was a picky eater; had to take the flock off loose-grain feeds to compensate. Hybrids seem to be more sensitive to deficiencies than some other breeds and those pelleted/crumble feeds really do seem to be a necessity to ensure they are able to keep up with their own bodies.

If not calcium deficiency, she may have a faulty shell gland, reproductive issue, or infection.

 

[Kriscam]

Hi Everyone,
I have a 16 month old Red Star who was injured and has been recuperating in the garage for several weeks. Yesterday morning, she laid a large brown egg as typical. Yesterday afternoon, she laid a shell-less egg with white and yolk. This morning she laid another shell-less egg with white and yolk. I've heard of two eggs in a day but not three. She is quite pampered and has access to oyster shell and I do grind up all the girls (16) shells and add to their layer feed. Has anyone else had 3 eggs in such a short time, or do I just chalk it up to my chickens being as weird as the rest of the family?

I have a barred rock hen who started doing that at about six months old. I consulted with a vet and the poultry vet at the USDA. They both had never heard of this problem and thought it would sort itself out. She's now almost 10 months old and this doesn't happen as often, but it still does. She will lay one normal egg for several days in a row, then skip a day and/or lay a double yoker. She still lays the soft 2nd & 3rd eggs once in a while. Both the folks I consulted said it's probably not good to adjust her diet to get the 2nd & 3rd eggs to be hard- shelled because of the additional toll it would take on her system. Hopefully your girl's system will even out a bit. I suspect this will shorten their lives. :-(

 

[6BeachChicks]

I have a barred rock hen who started doing that at about six months old. I consulted with a vet and the poultry vet at the USDA. They both had never heard of this problem and thought it would sort itself out. She's now almost 10 months old and this doesn't happen as often, but it still does. She will lay one normal egg for several days in a row, then skip a day and/or lay a double yoker. She still lays the soft 2nd & 3rd eggs once in a while. Both the folks I consulted said it's probably not good to adjust her diet to get the 2nd & 3rd eggs to be hard- shelled because of the additional toll it would take on her system. Hopefully your girl's system will even out a bit. I suspect this will shorten their lives. :-(

Two of my hens did this-both hatchery Rhode Island Reds. One layed two eggs a day once every week. Normal eggs. She did end up passing at one year old, but the vet suspected cancer. Last night, my other Red was egg bound and layed a regular egg. Then a soft one. Never happened before.