HEY! Where's my EGGS??

[ChaosTheory]

Have they already molted? If not, that could have something to do with it.

 

[Wifezilla]

Can anyone answer what would make hens lay regularly and then skip a day or so?

Doesn't everybody need a day off of work every once in a while???

 

[Dances with Ducks]

Quote:
I'm not sure if it is the same thing. Mine would lay every day pretty much without fail and then suddenly TWO of them don't. I have seen them skip a day on very rare occasion, not a big deal, but two on the same day makes me wonder if it's more than just taking a day off. I was thinking maybe illness or some sort of synchronized hormonal change. Maybe it is an oncoming molt. The experiences people share here are invaluable, I am so glad we have this site to share.
The possibility of snakes is very real. The breeder I bought my two Welsh Harlequin ducklings cannot let her hens set on their eggs because they inevitably get eaten by bull snakes. I did get the netting, not very expensive, I but didn't have a chance to set it up yet. I think if a snake fills up on eggs it takes a couple of days before they are hungry again. I don't mind setting up that sort of protection, if it never catches anything I will know I can relax about snakes.

 

[shelleyd2008]

Stupid question, but have you checked in the bedding? If one of them is trying to nest, she will bury the eggs. Dig around in the bedding and see what you can find.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

Not a stupid question, but they just have a small house so I rotate the bedding from the nest box down to the main floor so no missing eggs that way. What I was stupid to forget yesterday about was that not only were there no eggs, they had pooped in their nest box which they don't usually do. Makes me wonder if the girls aren't feeling well. Today so far only the Runner has laid, and the egg was smaller than usual. I picked up the Campbel to see if she had any eggs stuck in her tummy, but I can't tell anything. She is a lot chubbier than the others and seems to be affected the most. Could it just be the heat, does that throw them off? It does me but I don't lay those kind of eggs. It's been hotter, but no severe spikes in the temp. I just hope they are OK.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

https://www.backyardchickens.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=215061
I'm thinking it's the heat. My skinny runner has resumed laying, the mid-sized Welsh has laid every day but later and later (tonight I happened to find the egg she had just laid when I was putting them to bed), but my chubby campbel hasn't laid for three days. I know ducks do better with heat than chickens, but now heat would be my guess about what's happining to their eggs rather than snakes. No feathers lying around so it can't be a molt.
Anybody else see this pattern?

 

[shelleyd2008]

Just because you don't see feathers does not mean they aren't molting. All my rouen drakes look like they have been plucked, but I have yet to see any of their feathers.

It could be the heat, I have my button quail outside on the porch, and on the few days that it drops below 90 and doesn't have super high humidity, they will each lay an egg. Normally I get 2 or 3 eggs from 5 hens, if I'm lucky.

 

[Dances with Ducks]

Quote:
Do you think someone could be eating the feathers?

The only thing is our humidity and temps must be a lot lower than yours. How are your ducks laying?

 

[Wifezilla]

The local sparrow and finches had been snagging up my duck's feathers as soon as they hit the ground. I think we have some of the nicest, comfiest wild bird nests in my neighborhood

 

[streemers]

hahahaha birds are talking all my feathers also! my pekin mix stopped laying about 2wks before i could even tell that she was multing. hope that is whats up with yours. last year i had 3 stop laying with in 2 days of eachother and all 3 multed at the same time and started laying again with in days of each other.