No eggs - possibly wants to go broody?

[bellmare]

I have a lavender Orpington hen who has been laying consistently for me for a while now, but in the last five days I haven't gotten a single egg from her. She's about a year and a half old. Last night she sat in her nesting box at an odd time between 4pm and 6pm. She didn't cackle or sing, just sat there in the nest box for two whole hours. A little while later I noticed she was back in the yard with her friends so I went to collect an egg and there was nothing there. I'm confused... does she want to be broody? No eggs for five days and then she sits on nothing at all for two hours and I don't get an egg from her. Is this normal?

Additional Info:
I live in Las Vegas and it's a broiling 110+ degrees here on a daily basis. With all of this heat I've heard of hens quitting laying because of the stress from the heat, though last year I didn't have that problem. My production red hen still lays every day and I have one more egg laying hen who is closer to 3 years old who lays infrequently anyway. I do everything possible (short of making them house chickens) to keep them cool including a swamp cooler, frozen treats, refreshing their water twice daily, etc. I checked her last night after this weird episode to make sure she wasn't egg bound. No hard or swollen abdomen. Acting normally. Roosting with her buds, foraging in the yard, eating and drinking fine.

 

[azygous]

Hens going broody typically lay right up to the very minute they begin sitting on eggs. They also give you many obvious clues several days prior to beginning to sit, such as the fussy broody cluck which sounds like a pop corn popper, and little fluffy breast feathers suddenly appearing in the nest after she lays eggs.

Your hen may be struggling with laying a stubborn egg. Sitting on a nest for two hours without producing an egg is a sign an egg may be hanging up somewhere in her chute. I've had good luck slipping a heating pad on the lowest setting or a hot water bottle under my hen while she's on the nest. It often helps the egg come out, and even if she gets off the nest without laying an egg that day, often she will lay one the next day.

 

[bellmare]

Thank you so much for the reply! About an hour ago I went to check on the hens and they were all laying in front of the swamp cooler looking happy with fluffed feathers. As usual there was only one egg in the nesting box laid by my production red. Then as I was adding ice to their water I noticed an egg shell on the ground. It was the light cream color the orpington usually lays. It was broken wide open and cleaned out. Now I fear I have an egg eater. I haven't found any egg shells the last five days - would it be possible she was trying to get out a stuck egg and ended up just pooping it out on the ground where it cracked and got eaten? Or do you think it's more likely she's eating them?

 

[azygous]

Oh no, it's unlikely she's eating her eggs. You would find evidence of that. They simply do not consume the entire egg. Egg eaters always leave yolk-smeared bedding or partially smashed egg shells. The egg never vanishes without a trace.

The likely scenario is the one you describe. She was having a tough time passing this last egg, and she was caught off guard when it finally came out on the ground where it likely broke open. Chickens will eat a broken egg they find lying on the ground. or in a nest. It doesn't automatically make them egg eaters.

This happens a lot at my place. I have a couple of aging hens who still lay, but the quality of their egg shells are poor. If I don't get out and collect their eggs as soon as they lay them, another hen will climb into the nest box and lay their egg on top of the thin-shelled egg, breaking it. When the hen notices an egg oozing egg yolk has appeared fortuitously underneath her, she happily consumes it, leaving her egg right there on top of the remains of the broken one she has just eaten. If she was an egg eater, she would have also eaten the one she just laid.

So far, I've had several broken eggs eaten every week, but there are always several perfectly good eggs in the nest, too. I happen to have a number of opportunists, not egg eaters.

If you have an egg eater, you would notice the remains of many broken and eaten eggs and the number of good eggs would decline drastically. So, don't worry. You do not have an egg eater now.

 

[aart]

Has she had a full adult molt yet?
18 months is about ripe for the to happen.

 

[bellmare]

Thank you so much for putting my fears to rest. I had just worried that since I hadn't seen any eggs about she had been consuming them before I could go pick them up. But your explanation makes sense, especially about the yolky remains and other signs. She left an egg today, very odd shaped and speckled, which is uncommon for her so I am assuming that she was just having some issues laying and this eaten egg was just a fluke. I honestly can't remember if she's been through an adult molt but two of my other hens have and I haven't noticed any signs of molting like shed feathers or her looking a tad rough around the edges haha. I am trying to up her nutrition and I've been adding a little extra protein in the form of scrambled eggs and yogurt to their daily rations (they always have free choice layer feed and veggie treats). Hopefully this helps her get back on track. Any other suggestions for me?