how stress effects laying

[jusahippiechick]

Greetings from a VA newbie! I recently had a hen to lay 3 eggs in roughly 24 hours! She is the only hen laying brown eggs,so I know they're all hers. I checked them one day and no eggs. Checked the next day and she's sitting on 3! Obviously, one could have been laid the first day, after I had checked. And one could have been laid the second day,,but 3?? She had just been stressed by a hawk, not actually caught. I'm guessing she "held" the egg, then laid them all in the 24 hit period. Has anybody had a similar situation?

 

[sumi]

Hello and welcome to BYC

Stress usually makes hens stop laying, or lay really strange looking eggs. It could be that your hen is one of those rare 2-a-day layers, but 3 a day is very unlikely.

 

[willowbranchfarm]

Hi and I'm in VA also. Glad you joined BYC. Stress like sumi said, usually makes hens stop laying. Its very rare and unlikely to get 2 or 3 eggs in one day from one hen.

 

[jusahippiechick]

Thanks! Don't think she's a 2 a-day hen, but I can usually count on an egg a day from her. It was quite a surprise and I even thought one of the chicks, 14 weeks old, may have started laying. But since I haven't had any more "chick" eggs, I think she must have been stressed enough to hold an egg and then lay 2 in a day, then 1 the next morning.

 

[sumi]

Maybe the stress caused a little hiccough in her egg laying system. In your case a good one!

 

[sourland]

Hello and welcome to BYC

Stress usually makes hens stop laying, or lay really strange looking eggs. It could be that your hen is one of those rare 2-a-day layers, but 3 a day is very unlikely.

What Sumi said! Welcome to BYC.

 

[weimarmama]

&

from Alabama. Glad you joined us.

 

[redsoxs]

Greetings from Kansas, jusahippiechick, and

! Happy you joined our community! Best of luck to you and your hens!

 

[1muttsfan]

Hi and welcome to BYC from northern Michigan