Laying from roost

[amanda1]

i have had four eggs in two weeks I found under the roost. The first one was shell less. The following three appeared normal, but were broken and eaten by the time I got out to let them out in the morning between 6:30 and 7:00. I once read that if a hen doesn’t lay by 3 pm, she won’t lay the next day-something to do with the sun and their cycle, but I don’t believe that because a lot of my hens lay in the late afternoon. Anyway, I’m starting to think she may be laying either at night or earlier than it’s light, prohibiting her from making it to the nesting box. Has anyone else had this issue, and if so, was there anything you were able to do to prevent it?

 

[IamRainey]

Could you put something soft under the roost to break the fall? I have pads of paper-backed excelsior. I would think 2 of those would absorb a decent amount of impact.

I don't know that that's the ultimate solution but maybe until someone has a better idea about how to direct the hens to the nesting boxes it could keep the eggs intact. BTW, do you have dummy eggs in the nesting boxes to show where the eggs belong?

 

[snow5164]

I agree I have ceramic eggs and keep the curtains off so they see them. My perch is on top of my nesting box as one unit even at 2 years old I get an occasional egg in the sand up there. And my girls lay when ever the heck they are ready ... no schedule here

 

[alexa009]

I really don't understand why, but I have noticed that my chickens that lay soft shelled eggs or no shell at all don't even look for a nest box to lay them. Mine have also laid off roosting poles and right in the middle of the coop.

 

[centrarchid]

I have come to conclusion that hens laying eggs anywhere but in nest during the day is a sign of a health issue that needs to be looked at. The lack of shell is also very strong evidence for that.

 

[aart]

i have had four eggs in two weeks I found under the roost. The first one was shell less. The following three appeared normal, but were broken and eaten by the time I got out to let them out in the morning between 6:30 and 7:00. I once read that if a hen doesn’t lay by 3 pm, she won’t lay the next day-something to do with the sun and their cycle, but I don’t believe that because a lot of my hens lay in the late afternoon. Anyway, I’m starting to think she may be laying either at night or earlier than it’s light, prohibiting her from making it to the nesting box. Has anyone else had this issue, and if so, was there anything you were able to do to prevent it?

Can you tell which bird is laying these eggs...by color maybe or roost position?
How old is this birds...and what breed?
What all and how exactly are you feeding?

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Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
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Soft shell eggs can take a bird by surprise and be hard to move down the pike so to speak....it must 'feel' different so they don't go to nest to lay. I've seen bird act weird, standing stock still and staring off into the distance, before passing a softie, then back to normal activity.
Did the ones that 'appear normal' have thin shells?(or maybe the shell was gone by the time you found it?)
A hen may lay later and later in the day then not release an ova after laying and take a 'day off'. This is due to the approx 25 hours it takes to process an egg from ova release to laying it.

 

[Ridgerunner]

How long have they been laying? This behavior sounds like they have just started to lay. It's not unusual when pullet slay their first eggs that they are not perfect. The internal egg making factory is kind of complicated, sometimes it takes a while for them to get all the kinks out. That's not just the physical appearance of the eggs but also the egg laying process. Most pullets get the various parts of that process correct from the start but you can sometimes get some really weird pullet eggs. Double yolked, no yolk, soft shelled, no shell, extremely hard shell, and just weird shaped.

The standard process for a pullet getting ready to lay is that a few days before she is ready to lay she starts looking for a good nest. That's where the fake eggs can come in handy. Mature hens in the flock already laying in the nest seems to help with that too. But sometimes the pullet does not realize an egg will soon be coming. They may drop their first eggs wherever they are roost, coop, or run. It can be any time of the day or night. There are triggers that tell a hen or pullet when to release a yolk to start the journey through that internal egg making factory so she lays in in daylight but with a pullet just starting maybe those triggers are no working quite right. If you have pullets just starting to lay I suggest patience.

One time I had a pullet that laid her first egg from the roost. For two months she laid all her eggs from the roost. That's way too long. It was a pain but I finally figured out which one it was so I ate her. I figured there was something wrong with the hen that time would not cure.

Good luck. Hopefully it is just pullets starting to lay. but if it is not pullets this can be really frustrating.

 

[amanda1]

Can you tell which bird is laying these eggs...by color maybe or roost position?
How old is this birds...and what breed?
What all and how exactly are you feeding?

Where in this world are you located?
Climate can be a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!
View attachment 1415293

Soft shell eggs can take a bird by surprise and be hard to move down the pike so to speak....it must 'feel' different so they don't go to nest to lay. I've seen bird act weird, standing stock still and staring off into the distance, before passing a softie, then back to normal activity.
Did the ones that 'appear normal' have thin shells?(or maybe the shell was gone by the time you found it?)
A hen may lay later and later in the day then not release an ova after laying and take a 'day off'. This is due to the approx 25 hours it takes to process an egg from ova release to laying it.

Can you tell which bird is laying these eggs...by color maybe or roost position?
How old is this birds...and what breed?
What all and how exactly are you feeding?

Where in this world are you located?
Climate can be a factor.
Please add your general geographical location to your profile.
It's easy to do, then it's always there!
View attachment 1415293

Soft shell eggs can take a bird by surprise and be hard to move down the pike so to speak....it must 'feel' different so they don't go to nest to lay. I've seen bird act weird, standing stock still and staring off into the distance, before passing a softie, then back to normal activity.
Did the ones that 'appear normal' have thin shells?(or maybe the shell was gone by the time you found it?)
A hen may lay later and later in the day then not release an ova after laying and take a 'day off'. This is due to the approx 25 hours it takes to process an egg from ova release to laying it.

I’ve narrowed it down, but three of my hens lay almost identical eggs, so I can’t be sure. The hen that’s doing it is either 3 or 4 years old. The weather here has been unseasonably cool, in the 50/60’s at night 70/80’s during the day. I have been getting both soft shelled as well as hard shelled eggs, I’ve also been getting some wrinkled eggs. I’ve been giving them crushed eggshells as well as calcium an de layer feed. It’s happened again a few times since I first posted this, but I’ve also had eggs in the boxes from the three suspects, all on the same day, so I know it’s not happening every time. I was actually in the coop one evening when I heard the egg hit the floor, but there was a mad rush to eat it, so again, I wasn’t sure which hen did it. It seems it’s happening early morning, or around dusk each time it happens. I’m wondering if someone is having issues, because of the odd eggs I’m finding, but all I know to do is supplement more calcium, which I’m already doing.

 

[Unexpected chicken lover]

Has shedone it her whole life? 3-4 years? If not, i agree with @aart that it may signal a problem