Hi - I posted this earlier in the "egg section" - but now I think my RIR might not be feeling well. All the other chickens are running around the yard and sh has chosen to stay in the coop (she is NOT in a nesting box). She is just sitting in the shade in the coop. The other hens are doing their normal free ranging in teh yard acticvities. Her eis what I wrote earlier... th eonly different is now I'm noticing 2 behavior changes:
1) she is in the coop and not out running around AND
2) I offered her scratch and she didn't eat any.
Here's more info from my earlier post:
Hi -
We have 6 hens. They are all just over a year old. We are getting between 4 and 6 eggs a day. This week started with a paper-shelled egg under the roost in the coop from one hen. The next day, there was an egg in the nexting box, with either a paper shell or none at all (it was broken). There was also a big poop in teh box which is unusual. Yesterday one hen was in the nesting box a 6 pm at night (our ladies all generally lay before 2 in the afternoon). This morning I found a shell-less egg in that nesting box (and another poop). I'm pretty sure these are all from the same hen (a Rhode Island Red). She othewise seem OK.
They all get regular organic layer feed, free range for about 2 hours a day in the garden, and have a supply of oyster shell in the coop.
The 2nd day of the strange egg, I figured I'd ride it out and tried to cinvince myself that it was just a hiccup in her system. Of course today I am really concerned.... I don't know if anyone else has experienced shell-less eggs multiple days in a row. We've had them on occaision, but never 3 days in a row. Not sure if there is anything I can/should do - but if there is something I should do to help her start laying again, please let me know. Thanks!
1) she is in the coop and not out running around AND
2) I offered her scratch and she didn't eat any.
Here's more info from my earlier post:
Hi -
We have 6 hens. They are all just over a year old. We are getting between 4 and 6 eggs a day. This week started with a paper-shelled egg under the roost in the coop from one hen. The next day, there was an egg in the nexting box, with either a paper shell or none at all (it was broken). There was also a big poop in teh box which is unusual. Yesterday one hen was in the nesting box a 6 pm at night (our ladies all generally lay before 2 in the afternoon). This morning I found a shell-less egg in that nesting box (and another poop). I'm pretty sure these are all from the same hen (a Rhode Island Red). She othewise seem OK.
They all get regular organic layer feed, free range for about 2 hours a day in the garden, and have a supply of oyster shell in the coop.
The 2nd day of the strange egg, I figured I'd ride it out and tried to cinvince myself that it was just a hiccup in her system. Of course today I am really concerned.... I don't know if anyone else has experienced shell-less eggs multiple days in a row. We've had them on occaision, but never 3 days in a row. Not sure if there is anything I can/should do - but if there is something I should do to help her start laying again, please let me know. Thanks!
