Hen stopped laying! help!

[IncognitoMode4723]

I can leave an egg with Mary next time to see how long she sits on it.

Today when I came outside to move the run and take out the hens, I saw Mary sitting on an egg. I took them out, and Mary came out but hung around the run. I picked her up and moved her away but she ran back to be around the egg. I moved her again but she kept running back. I also saw her picking at her feathers around her belly. After I put them back in the run, she went back to sit on her egg. She only moved around a little, but immediately rolled the egg back under her. She seemed reluctant to get up at all, not even to eat or drink.

Earlier when she was out of the run I showed her the palm of my hand and she arched her neck over my hand and looked down at it in the same motion she makes when rolling eggs under her. I have heard that the longer broody hens sit on their eggs they could become aggressive. I do not want her to become aggressive. If I took the egg from her, would that help?

 

[rosemarythyme]

The picking at feathers on the belly is a possible sign of going broody. Rolling eggs is not - hens that are laying will do that as well.

I've never had issue with broodies/semi-broody birds being aggressive over eggs, but I also regularly reach under laying hens to check for eggs to collect, so they're used to me messing with them in the nest and don't really react. I don't leave eggs sitting in nests since it increases the odds of an egg getting cracked, and I have a bird that does like to go broody, so fewer eggs in the box, the better.

 

[IncognitoMode4723]

When I took out the chickens today, Mary was sitting on another hen's egg. she came out and rushed around here and there like she had an egg to lay. she then stopped next to the other two hens and stood still. she was squatting, the feathers on her neck were standing up. it looked like she was trying to poop out an egg. She stood still for a little in this position. one of the other hens (bertha) came up to her and they jumped at each other. after that I came over to see what was happening. mary started trying to lay her egg again and then bertha walked up behind her. mary started squawking like something scared her. she jumped, and right behind her I saw an egg on the ground. when I picked it up I was surprised because it was broken and the shell was weaker than usual, but not incredibly so. Later, I tried to crack the egg. It looked normal inside, and the shell was not thin, but it was easier to break than usual.

 

[IncognitoMode4723]

Also, when I took the hens out a little later, mary still ran around like she had an egg to lay.

 

[rosemarythyme]

Do your hens have access to calcium (oyster shell, egg shell)?

I don't know if the behavior has anything to do with her troubles laying *shrug*

 

[IncognitoMode4723]

Do your hens have access to calcium (oyster shell, egg shell)?

I don't know if the behavior has anything to do with her troubles laying *shrug*

the feed I give them is a complete feed (Purina Layena layer pellets). The bag says that everything they need to lay eggs is in the feed and that you don't have to give them supplemental calcium.

Do you think that she laid an egg with a weaker shell because she hadn't laid eggs in a while?

 

[rosemarythyme]

the feed I give them is a complete feed (Purina Layena layer pellets). The bag says that everything they need to lay eggs is in the feed and that you don't have to give them supplemental calcium.

Do you think that she laid an egg with a weaker shell because she hadn't laid eggs in a while?

So layer feed is formulated to meet the calcium needs of an average hen. Some may need more (and some possibly less). So always a good idea to have extra calcium available, if they choose to take it - oyster shell for example, or since you feed all layer, you could use crushed eggshell instead.

All that said, yes it's possible the weak shelled egg was a result of her not laying for a while, as hens are more prone to laying weird/problematic eggs when coming in or out of lay.