My silver Phoenix hen seems to have trouble laying her eggs and the eggs come out kind of pointed and speckled. (She's about 10 month old). She stopped laying for a couple of months, but now she's laying again but not as frequently as the other hens. It takes her a long time to lay her eggs. Should I be concerned that she has a physical problem? And if so what can I do for her? Also during the times where she doesn't lay for weeks or months at a time, she starts acting like a rooster....crowing and trying to mount the other hens...any advice??
It's normal for hens to stop laying during the winter months. Molting and fewer hours of daylight will stop egg production. Pointed or speckled eggs are not an issue either. Some hens lay pointed eggs, other lay eggs that are very round. Some lay eggs with speckling, others don't. It's normal. It's also normal for hens to take different amounts of time to lay. Some like to take their time with it, getting everything just so and then sitting for hours sometimes. I suspect that she is quite a bit older than 10 months. Older, dominant hens will crow and mount other hens. Those behaviors are dominance related.
Thank you for the help. Actually, she was hatched in my yard, so I'm sure she's only 10 months and I'm not sure how long she stopped laying for...my daughter thinks it's been at least 3 months maybe 4...longer than our other hens.
