Please HELP!!! Hen Laying From Roost.

[Sequin_Equine]

My Buff Orpington has taken to laying from her roosting pole at least once or twice a week, causing her eggs to break, and be eaten. Her shells are also sort of thin, brittle, and gritty. This always happens before she is let out in the morning, and has been going on for about a month. She is the only hen I’m seeing these problems with. I have pored through message boards and haven’t been able to troubleshoot the problem! Every solution I find has been explored:

• There are plenty of nesting boxes (3 boxes for 4 gals)
• She has access to oyster shells, and grit, along with her laying pellets, occasional table scraps, and mealworm treats
• She is not young- I’ve had her for 7 months, and she has already been laying when I got her
• She is high in the pecking order, I don’t think she is being bullied
• There are ceramic eggs in all 3 nesting boxes, permanently
• My hens are free-range all day, going in the coop at sundown, and coming out about an hour past sunrise
• She has access to clean water, treated with apple cider vinegar
• I treat their food with diatomaceous earth monthly (but this has been happening since before I began giving them DE.)
• The nesting boxes are clean and comfy

I’m sorry this is so long, but I wanted to list every factor I could think of, so maybe I could find an answer! I am at a total loss... thank in advance, friends.

 

[CluckerFamily]

I have no idea.
Could you post a picture of her?

 

[aart]

She is not young- I’ve had her for 7 months, and she has already been laying when I got her

So she's probably about 13 or more months old?

Funky eggs can happen as hens slow/stop production for molt and winter break.
I'd cut out the ACV, it can inhibit calcium uptake.

 

[One Lucky Momma]

Pardon me for jumping in here, I’ve been composing almost the exact scenario for a few days.

When she first started laying, one of our three RIR dropped uncalcified eggs from the roost for a couple of weeks. They were otherwise fine, and we ate them If they hadn’t broken on impact. (I attribute our deep bedding to saving most of them.) I believe she used a nesting box a few times as I found eggs there that were partially calcified. Now I’m back to finding eggs obviously dropped from the roost, apparently during the night, though now they are almost normal, just a little rough feeling.

I‘m certain this is the same bird that was producing the incompletely hardened eggs earlier as the birds are banded and I always try to note where RIR blue-band is perched for the night.

Living conditions here sound virtually identical to Sequin’s.

So, I’m wondering if there’s anything I can do to encourage her to use a nesting box. It seems intuitive that they would if they could, so, given her earlier issues with passing unfinished eggs, I wonder if she’s not completely in control of when the egg leaves her body. Also, how stressful would this be to the bird?

Many thanks!

 

[Sequin_Equine]

I have no idea.
Could you post a picture of her?

 

[Sequin_Equine]

The Buff is the gal in question. (Her name is Sexy Motherclucker, known affectionately as “Mama.”)

 

[Sequin_Equine]

So she's probably about 13 or more months old?

Funky eggs can happen as hens slow/stop production for molt and winter break.
I'd cut out the ACV, it can inhibit calcium uptake.

Thanks for the suggestion! I only started the ACV after we realized that her eggs were gritty and sporadically placed, wondering if it might help balance her out. It’s been an issue most of the Summer. I’m hoping it’s something easy, like a regular molt, going on!