hen having problems egg laying?

[UrbanFarmerGirl]

I have a buff orpington who is about 4 and a half months old. She just started laying about 5-6 weeks ago. She is my only inconsistent layer (as far as I can tell), and has laid eggs with soft shells a couple of times when she was just getting started. I have 4 hens total, and at least one is still sometimes laying double-yolked eggs. It might be her. Now, she is spending a lot of time in the nest box. Last night I think she slept in there. I thought she was having trouble laying, and I felt underneath her but there were no eggs. She was making a purring/growling noise while I checked. She did this a few days ago, but later she was out and about and had left me an egg. Today in the middle of the day she was up there again, and again with the purring and growling. Is she having trouble laying? She is so young- is she possibly already going broody? If so, how do I prevent this? She has only laid me a handful of eggs so far! This is my first time with chickens, so anyone with laying hens- please let me know if you have any ideas. Thank you so much!

 

[CMV]

She's going broody. Time to kick her out of the nesting boxes. Physically remove her from the boxes whenever you see her in there. If you can block access to them after your birds have used them. If it persists then you will have to use more extreme measures, but she should be snapping out it soon. The days are getting shorter, so brooding behavior should be letting up soon.

Good luck.

 

[UrbanFarmerGirl]

Thanks. I was afraid that was what had happened. She's now SO defensive she is keeping the other hens out, and she is puffing up and growling all of the time- even after I take away the eggs! I'll try to keep her out of there tomorrow.