Jealous Of New Layer

[dasjman]

Back story: Had two chickens, one was taken by a snake late last year. Got two more chickens this spring. One was taken by a snake. Resolved the snake problem.

Situation: The newer hen just began laying, but the older hen is not happy about it. It's obvious the newer hen is not using the nesting boxes, and the egg shells aren't very developed yet, but I saw older hen running with an egg in her mouth, with new hen chasing behind. Old hen quickly destroyed the egg.

Will this resolve itself eventually or is there a plan of action I should take?

 

[Wyorp Rock]

What are you feeding the new hen? Can you explain what you mean by the egg shells aren't developed yet, are they soft shell or shell-less eggs?

The running with the egg has nothing to do with jealously, it's about being greedy over something tasty to eat. The older hen has found an egg not in a nesting box, it sounds like it's not a normal hard shelled egg so to the older hen this if food.

Will it resolve? Hard to know. Provide your new hen with a good quality layer feed and oyster shell free choice, see if that help with shell quality. Encourage her to use the nesting boxes by placing some ceramic eggs or golf ball in the box.

 

[dasjman]

Sorry for not getting back timely, but the issue has worked itself out. All other eggs have been normal, and both are using the nesting boxes to lay.