How did your flock annoy you today?

[GApeachmama]

They’ll probably be all over the map in the next several weeks as their hormones and various stages along the reproductive tract get in synch.

You might find soft-shelled and shell-less eggs during this time. Sometimes their hormonal triggers release two eggs in a day (or a similar variant), and they shoot through the reproductive tract so quickly that they don’t get a shell fully deposited.

Don’t panic if that happens, and also don’t panic if you find them pecking at or eating a shell-less egg. Mine did that once or twice, I think out of curiosity, but I’ve never once had an egg-eater of a fully-shelled egg.

Congratulations! And in a month, you’ll probably be posting to ask what on earth you can do with all these eggs.

I can hardly wait.

 

[GApeachmama]

They’ll probably be all over the map in the next several weeks as their hormones and various stages along the reproductive tract get in synch.

You might find soft-shelled and shell-less eggs during this time. Sometimes their hormonal triggers release two eggs in a day (or a similar variant), and they shoot through the reproductive tract so quickly that they don’t get a shell fully deposited.

Don’t panic if that happens, and also don’t panic if you find them pecking at or eating a shell-less egg. Mine did that once or twice, I think out of curiosity, but I’ve never once had an egg-eater of a fully-shelled egg.

Congratulations! And in a month, you’ll probably be posting to ask what on earth you can do with all these eggs.

Can you startle them into not laying? Like an idiot I petted my favorite girl while she was sitting. If so, will she catch up when she wants to?

 

[LaurenRitz]

Can you startle them into not laying? Like an idiot I petted my favorite girl while she was sitting. If so, will she catch up when she wants to?

They can hold onto an egg for a while, but if it's in there it is coming out.

 

[Mother of Chaos]

They can hold onto an egg for a while, but if it's in there it is coming out.

Agreed, once it’s that far down the pipeline that they’ve gone to the nest, that thing’s coming out.

It’s true that severe shocks, threats, etc. can put them off lay for a bit, as that affects the “upstream” of the repro tract, affecting the release of the ovum from the ovary. When that happens, be patient and help the chicken environment be calm, and they’ll get back to business.