Laying eggs

[Chezarino]

I have 6 hens that have been laying 5 to 6 eggs a day. In the last week we have gotten 2 soft shell eggs. I broken one in the coop and one whole with membrane attached in the yard. They only lay in two places. The coop or in the plastic hay bag on the pool table. Today we found 2 "rubber eggs". One in the hay bag and one in the coop in box not usually used for laying. They areableist 1 1/2 years old.

They get fed Laying Crumble, Scratch, Grit with Oyster Shell, Crickets, lots of fresh vegetables and fruits and Worms.


Can anybody please help me to understand what might be going on? is there something I need to do differently?

Thank You

 

[Pork Pie]

I would suggest cutting the treats / veg and fruit out of their diet for a few days to see if that helps.

CT

 

[AuntNomi]

I agree, I would only be feeding them the crumble and not all the extras. Hopefully that will help.

 

[Chezarino]

Thank you. I will cut out the treats, fruits and vegetables for a few days and see if that helps.

Last week we were getting 4 to 6 eggs a day and we got to softshell for the first time. Now this week we're getting 2 to 3 a day and the two rubber Eggs. I was thinking that it was all because of the heat. 80's to high 90's. Don't know if that is all that is going on.

They are almost one and a half years old so I don't think they are done laying yet.

Any other suggestions of what might be causing this abnormal behavior?

 

[aart]

Welcome to BYC!!

At 18 months old they may be getting ready to molt, despite the long days, that can make for some funky eggs as they laying machine shuts down to start a molt.

It may take longer than a few days of a changed diet to show results.
High heat, especially if it's sudden, can goof up the egg laying too.

Are they free ranged or confined to coop and run?
How big is coop and run(in feet by feet)?

 

[Chezarino]

Mellow one of my Brown Leghorn molted back in Jan. Boy did she look sad. I just wanted to pick her up and give her hugs.

With it over 100 degrees out today I did bring home fruit salad and salad bar leftovers. It helps that I work in a cafe so I get lots of fruits and vegetables for them instead of throwing it away. I have also froze some fruit to give them on these hot days. We did finally get 5 eggs today.

They are free range. They run around the yard from 7am to 8pm. They love to lay under the hedge for shade.

My husband built the coop. It is approximatly 7ft X 4ft run. The coop is 5ft X 4ft. It has 6 laying boxes and 3 purches in it. 3 doors that we lock at night. They put themselves to bed if I don't get out there before dark. When I go out in the evening they follow me to go to bed. They all go to they're spots. I just love my chickens.