Large variance in egg laying behavior and quality, anything else we can do to help her?

[Bawkbok]

We have a Cinnamon Queen, 8 months age, been laying for 66 days. For the first 34 days she was laying a perfect egg same time every day. For the past month, these are the issues we're seeing:

-- Skipping a day all together
-- next day will be two eggs, one right after the other, one semi-hard, the 2nd a soft shell usually broken, laid within a minute of each other. This has occurred several times over the past few weeks.
-- a lash egg found in the run, followed by a hard shelled egg
-- egg laying time inconsistent now from overnight (finding at first light in nest) to evening time
-- hard shelled eggs missing the paint department and almost devoid of color, but not white
-- First 30 days, consistent weights of 2.0-2.4 oz // past month weights vary from 2.4 - 3.5 oz!! Several double yolk eggs weighing 3.4-3.5 - huge dinosaur eggs! They don't even fit in an egg carton.

She eats a TON of oyster shells every day. I am refilling that trough about 3x weekly. When she skips laying for a day we start her with Calcium D3, 400 mg for several days. Food is Kalmbach 20% all flock. No changes in diet.

Questions:
Should we provide a Calcium supplement every day for an extended period? Provide no calcium at all?

We buy the OS from the local feed store, 50 lb. bag. Could the OS be deficient in quality? Is there a 'better' option for OS we should be considering to keep up with her functional demands?

What else could or should we be doing to help her get back to consistency? Or am I dreaming since she is a production breed?

Severe increase in temperature and triple digit heat indices and stressful construction noise, heightened activity close by past three weeks - would this be an impact?

Poops look good, activity normal.

Thanks for any insight and advice.

 

[FarmerGirl101]

How many chickens are in there with her? Could it be that the weird eggs may be from another chicken? She is still early in laying so it is normal for consistency issues and for egg size to vary. Stress can also cause issues. Also, I would not be concerned with laying time as it will not be the same every day.

How do you feed the oyster shells? Is it in a container that has a hefty serving or a small portion? You should not be needing to refill it 3x a week even if you aren't feeding a layer feed. That is incredibly excessive. Does she know where the food is?

Reproductive issues can also cause issues but normally those develop when they are older, not at 8 months. If it were me I would switch to a layer feed from a name brand like purina, nutrena, dumor, or another well known brand for the time being. I've had issues with poor feed quality that lowered the nutritional value of the feed. This reflected in thin shelled eggs that were constantly broken. All flock is still a good option normally but right now I would test something new out while you figure out what is causing the issue.

 

[Bawkbok]

How many chickens are in there with her?

We have four - the others lay at the same time every day give or take 15 minutes. They are very consistent in color and quality. The CQ is the only one laying dark brown eggs. I watch them closely enough to know who is on nest at any time of the day when they enter and when they emerge. I'm pretty 'obsessed' with keeping an eye on them to know behavior, habits and health.

The four of them have 150 sq. ft. of run space plus 6 or more hours of yard time every day.

This morning, while out roaming, is when our queen laid two eggs, right at my feet. She couldn't make it back to the coop in time, I guess.

The OS container holds approximately one cup of OS. There is only one other chicken that eats it from what I've seen. I know for a fact another one never ever touches it.

The food is available from sun up to sun down in the middle of the run. They all know where it is and feed at will throughout the day.

I switched from regular all flock feed to non-GMO; I haven't searched receipts to see if the timing is about when these issues began. Switching to non-GMO is due to my health issues with eating eggs. Do you think this switch might have something to do with it?

Thanks for your reply. I appreciate your insight.

 

[rosemarythyme]

-- a lash egg found in the run

This is the most concerning part for me though I assume you don't have conclusive evidence it was hers?

Otherwise a pullet that's been laying for 66 days, I'd expect some variance and inconsistency, even at this point.

She eats a TON of oyster shells every day. I am refilling that trough about 3x weekly. When she skips laying for a day we start her with Calcium D3, 400 mg for several days.

Why supplement her with calcium when she skips a day? Calcium does not make them lay. It's strictly for shell strength and if she's gorging on calcium already I certainly would not want her to have even more.

We buy the OS from the local feed store, 50 lb. bag. Could the OS be deficient in quality? Is there a 'better' option for OS we should be considering to keep up with her functional demands?

Any photos or a link to the product you're using? Also do you provide digestive grit (granite) or have rocky soil so birds can get their own?

What else could or should we be doing to help her get back to consistency? Or am I dreaming since she is a production breed?

I think your expectations aren't going to be met, as most chickens do not lay daily. Not even production breeds.

Severe increase in temperature and triple digit heat indices and stressful construction noise, heightened activity close by past three weeks - would this be an impact?

Yes, especially the heat.

 

[Bawkbok]

This is the most concerning part for me though I assume you don't have conclusive evidence it was hers?

Otherwise a pullet that's been laying for 66 days, I'd expect some variance and inconsistency, even at this point.

Why supplement her with calcium when she skips a day? Calcium does not make them lay. It's strictly for shell strength and if she's gorging on calcium already I certainly would not want her to have even more.

Any photos or a link to the product you're using? Also do you provide digestive grit (granite) or have rocky soil so birds can get their own?

I think your expectations aren't going to be met, as most chickens do not lay daily. Not even production breeds.

Yes, especially the heat.

Thank you so much for this insight.
I didn't realize production breeds did not lay every day. This is our first experience with one that is laying. The most concerning thing for me is when she lays two eggs within minutes of each other. One is solid and the second is always a soft shell, usually broken. Given this I thought perhaps she might not be getting enough calcium.

It's reassuring to know after a couple months of laying, they might still have hiccups, for some reason I thought the kinks would be ironed out by now, so good to know.

They always have access to grit, as with OS, the cheap stuff from the feed store. I ordered better quality, natural grit and natural OS flakes this morning from Chewy vs the hard 'rocks' they have now. Plus they eat sand while out foraging every day for bugs.

Thank you for the reply and knowledge; much appreciated!

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

I agree with the above. I wouldn’t switch to layer feed if she knows where the oyster shell is. She might be consuming more because it isn’t as broken down as easily as other sources. This is just my personal hypothesis on oyster shell. I do all flock and oyster shell as well but I also re-feed them their egg shells when I get enough and they seem to prefer that. My container only holds about half a cup and I refill it maybe every two weeks. I only have two active layers right now and most of it gets beaked out if I’m honest. Not so with the shell. They eat that right up within a couple days. They also free range all day so I am assuming they get calcium from clover and other plant matter. It’s a shot in the dark but you might try refeeding the crushed egg shells back and see if that helps any. Some people over dry or microwave them-I just wait for them to dry crush them up in a bag with a rolling pin. I used to think this would create monster egg-eaters but it actually solved my egg-eating problems with my previous flock.

 

[Ridgerunner]

We have a Cinnamon Queen, 8 months age, been laying for 66 days. For the first 34 days she was laying a perfect egg same time every day. For the past month, these are the issues we're seeing:

-- Skipping a day all together
-- next day will be two eggs, one right after the other, one semi-hard, the 2nd a soft shell usually broken, laid within a minute of each other. This has occurred several times over the past few weeks.

The way it is supposed to work is that the hen releases one yolk to form an egg. There are different triggers as to when to release that yolk. Daylight is one trigger. Laying the last egg can be another. I'm sure there are others. On average it takes about 25 hours for an egg to go through the hen's internal egg-making factory from when the yolk is released until the egg is laid so many hens lay a bit later each day. But that's just an average. For some that journey is fast enough that they can lay an egg the same time each day.

For production breeds, skipping a day is not unusual.

But sometimes a hen does not release a yolk a day but can release two (or even more) on the same day. If two yolks are released at the same time you can get a double yolked egg. Or each yolk can have an egg created around it, especially if they are released at different times. Often, when a hen releases two yolks in one day she skips laying the following day.

A hen generally creates enough shell material to cover one egg each day. If she lays more than one egg each day it is pretty normal for one to have shell but the other to be really thin-shelled or have no shell. It's not a matter of how much calcium she is eating but how well her body processes it.

-- a lash egg found in the run, followed by a hard shelled egg

I defer to Rosemary on this.

-- egg laying time inconsistent now from overnight (finding at first light in nest) to evening time

Not laying at the same time each day is normal for most of them but laying at night means she is getting her triggers wrong. I don't know why.

-- hard shelled eggs missing the paint department and almost devoid of color, but not white

The brown pigment is generally applied after the egg is completed in the shell gland and put on over a half hour period just before the egg is laid. It sounds like something is triggering her to lay the egg early before that coating is applied. I don't know why.

-- First 30 days, consistent weights of 2.0-2.4 oz // past month weights vary from 2.4 - 3.5 oz!! Several double yolk eggs weighing 3.4-3.5 - huge dinosaur eggs! They don't even fit in an egg carton.

Something triggered her to start releasing two yolks in one day. That is not all that unusual in a pullet just learning to start to lay, usually they straighten that out within a week or two as they mature. But yours went the opposite direction. She started out correct and then went off.

She eats a TON of oyster shells every day. I am refilling that trough about 3x weekly. When she skips laying for a day we start her with Calcium D3, 400 mg for several days. Food is Kalmbach 20% all flock. No changes in diet.

It sounds like she is eating enough calcium but her body is not processing it correctly as you said the first egg was "semi-hard". That could be something wrong with the shell gland or something with her digestive tract. Maybe a trigger as to when to lay the egg is off?

Questions:
Should we provide a Calcium supplement every day for an extended period? Provide no calcium at all?

I'd try the calcium supplement to see if that helps but I'm not convinced that is your problem.

We buy the OS from the local feed store, 50 lb. bag. Could the OS be deficient in quality? Is there a 'better' option for OS we should be considering to keep up with her functional demands?

It is working for your others. I don't think that is the problem.

What else could or should we be doing to help her get back to consistency? Or am I dreaming since she is a production breed?

Mainly give her more time.

Severe increase in temperature and triple digit heat indices and stressful construction noise, heightened activity close by past three weeks - would this be an impact?

Possibly but I doubt it. Stress can cause problems but that generally means she stops or cuts back laying, not this stuff.

She may straighten out in time but to me it sounds like something happened about the time she laid that lash egg that messed her up. Possibly a deferred birth defect that took a while to kick in or maybe she was somehow injured. You can try working with her in hopes it straightens out but I'd consider she is unlikely to change and would make my plans based on that.

Sorry you are having these issues.

 

[Bawkbok]

you might try refeeding the crushed egg shells back and see if that helps any.

I actually do feed them back crushed egg shells when I remember to add it to the OS, about once weekly. I'll get better about remembering to add it to the OS and you're right, they seem to prefer that over the rocks.

 

[BlindLemonChicken]

Bummer that was my only idea!