Bridget, my 9-month old Delaware has been laying for a bit over 2 months. Once the days got a bit longer, she was laying everyday like a trooper. The only issue was that her shells weren't as thick/hard as they could be.
- 2 weeks ago she laid two abnormal eggs overnight (1 shell-less and 1 rubber) AND she was acting ill.
- took her to the vet who prescribed Baytril just in case there was an infection. Blood test showed normal everything, good
calcium levels, etc. Nothing abnormal except her abdomen was a bit enlarged and felt doughy and she was slightly underweight.
- aside from one rubber egg 2 days later while recupering in my bathroom, she has laid normally for the last 2 weeks.
- she perked up pretty quickly, acting normally by the next day.
- Yesterday morning, there was a cracked thin-shelled egg under her roost that she apparently laid overnight. She also acted like she was going to lay at her normal time by spending at least an hour in the nest, but she didn't lay an additional egg.
- Today she laid a very soft-shelled egg that, from what I can tell, broke as she was laying and got a bit stuck since I saw a trail of egg from the nest to run, then discovered the broken egg in the run.
She's acting perfectly normal, aside from that first incident. I have a theory and I realize I might be grasping because I just don't want Bridget to have a serious problem, like internal laying or something like that. The enlarged abdomen does worry me but my husband has palpated her regularly and it does not seem to be getting bigger. And it could be my imagination, but I seem to recall that her abdomen seemed rather large even before she ever started laying. Maybe she's just fatty there?
Anyway, so Bridget is very high-strung. She cries LOUDLY in the coop every morning before I let her out. Right now, sunrise is around 6:30 and I let her out at 7:30. She cries off and on for the whole hour. She also cries when her sole flock-mate Yolanda is in the nest laying. I've read on the boards that thin-shelled/rubber eggs can be caused by the egg not spending enough time in the shell department. Could her crying (which she seems to use her whole body for) be pushing her egg along the reproductive tract too quickly thus causing the thin-shelled eggs? Has anyone experienced anything like this?
Like I said, I think I may be grasping. And it also may be that she's a relatively new layer and is still working out the kinks. But I'm a worry-wart and I dwell on this. I just want an answer, you know? Though I know I won't ever get a definitive answer.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Sorry it's so long
- 2 weeks ago she laid two abnormal eggs overnight (1 shell-less and 1 rubber) AND she was acting ill.
- took her to the vet who prescribed Baytril just in case there was an infection. Blood test showed normal everything, good
calcium levels, etc. Nothing abnormal except her abdomen was a bit enlarged and felt doughy and she was slightly underweight.
- aside from one rubber egg 2 days later while recupering in my bathroom, she has laid normally for the last 2 weeks.
- she perked up pretty quickly, acting normally by the next day.
- Yesterday morning, there was a cracked thin-shelled egg under her roost that she apparently laid overnight. She also acted like she was going to lay at her normal time by spending at least an hour in the nest, but she didn't lay an additional egg.
- Today she laid a very soft-shelled egg that, from what I can tell, broke as she was laying and got a bit stuck since I saw a trail of egg from the nest to run, then discovered the broken egg in the run.
She's acting perfectly normal, aside from that first incident. I have a theory and I realize I might be grasping because I just don't want Bridget to have a serious problem, like internal laying or something like that. The enlarged abdomen does worry me but my husband has palpated her regularly and it does not seem to be getting bigger. And it could be my imagination, but I seem to recall that her abdomen seemed rather large even before she ever started laying. Maybe she's just fatty there?
Anyway, so Bridget is very high-strung. She cries LOUDLY in the coop every morning before I let her out. Right now, sunrise is around 6:30 and I let her out at 7:30. She cries off and on for the whole hour. She also cries when her sole flock-mate Yolanda is in the nest laying. I've read on the boards that thin-shelled/rubber eggs can be caused by the egg not spending enough time in the shell department. Could her crying (which she seems to use her whole body for) be pushing her egg along the reproductive tract too quickly thus causing the thin-shelled eggs? Has anyone experienced anything like this?
Like I said, I think I may be grasping. And it also may be that she's a relatively new layer and is still working out the kinks. But I'm a worry-wart and I dwell on this. I just want an answer, you know? Though I know I won't ever get a definitive answer.
Anyway, thanks for reading. Sorry it's so long
