Pullet laying 1 egg a week

[LikeTurkeys]

Do you let your chickens outside? Could it be she found a new great nesting spot that one time she was locked out?

 

[newbiechickenmamma11]

Do you let your chickens outside? Could it be she found a new great nesting spot that one time she was locked out?

Nah unfortunately that isn't the case. They have a large enclosed run so she was just locked out of the coop. I looked around the run and she definitely isn't laying in there!

 

[LikeTurkeys]

I've found eggs in some crazy places! Under nest boxes and inside feeders!

But if she's not hiding eggs then it is probably something else. What breed is she? And is her comb full and red (depending on breed) or does it look a little shrunken maybe?

 

[newbiechickenmamma11]

I've found eggs in some crazy places! Under nest boxes and inside feeders!

But if she's not hiding eggs then it is probably something else. What breed is she? And is her comb full and red (depending on breed) or does it look a little shrunken maybe?

Wow some creative nesting sites! She definitely isn't doing that. She's an easter egger/cross breed. Her comb is full and red. Every day or two she does still enter the nesting box and sits on the eggs for an hour or two sometimes, but she never lays (except for once a week, for the past month). I know she's not laying as I have a camera tracking who's laying what

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Wow some creative nesting sites! She definitely isn't doing that. She's an easter egger/cross breed. Her comb is full and red. Every day or two she does still enter the nesting box and sits on the eggs for an hour or two sometimes, but she never lays (except for once a week, for the past month). I know she's not laying as I have a camera tracking who's laying what

Clues, clues... This is helpful info. And wow, I might need to hear more about this camera tracking system, been looking at ways to track which hens lay which eggs for a long time now.


My thinking is now:
1) She might be starting to go broody and the hormones are making her lay less before she cuts out completely. Does she make low clucking sounds if you approach her in the nest?
2) Could be the start of internal laying. Some eggs are making it through and some are going inside... You won't necessarily know until it's been happening for a while and you can feel the mass in her abdomen. I would hope not because it's next to impossible to treat. But you can pinch her abdomen just to check if there's anything hard or otherwise unusual that you can feel now.

 

[newbiechickenmamma11]

Hello!

So I am not sure if she is going broody, she doesn’t actually sit on the nest all that often, and didn’t sit over the weekend. This morning though she did lay her first egg in 10 days.

Her most recent 5 eggs were laid on: Oct 13 (today), Oct 2, Sept 24, Sept 19, Sept 16.

The hen that passed away died on Sept 25th - and looking at my records now, it did seem to cause a few other hens to stop laying for 3 days but they bounced back by Sept 30th.

I tried to feel her abdomen and couldn’t feel any suspicious masses, however I am no expert with internal laying. I guess my question would be - how long does it take for a noticeable mass to be felt? As it’s been about a month since she started slowing down.

She is otherwise, eating, drinking, active and acting fine, her vent is clean, comb is plump and red. I am really confused as to what the issue is! Could it just be stress?

Regarding the camera: I’ve mounted a solar Tapo outdoor camera to the top of the nesting box. It records onto an SD card so I can review the video and track who has laid what.

Here's a photo of hen in question

 

[LikeTurkeys]

Hello!

So I am not sure if she is going broody, she doesn’t actually sit on the nest all that often, and didn’t sit over the weekend. This morning though she did lay her first egg in 10 days.

Her most recent 5 eggs were laid on: Oct 13 (today), Oct 2, Sept 24, Sept 19, Sept 16.

The hen that passed away died on Sept 25th - and looking at my records now, it did seem to cause a few other hens to stop laying for 3 days but they bounced back by Sept 30th.

I tried to feel her abdomen and couldn’t feel any suspicious masses, however I am no expert with internal laying. I guess my question would be - how long does it take for a noticeable mass to be felt? As it’s been about a month since she started slowing down.

She is otherwise, eating, drinking, active and acting fine, her vent is clean, comb is plump and red. I am really confused as to what the issue is! Could it just be stress?

Regarding the camera: I’ve mounted a solar Tapo outdoor camera to the top of the nesting box. It records onto an SD card so I can review the video and track who has laid what.

Here's a photo of hen in question

Sorry for the delay in getting back to you.

Internal laying can take a while to show. I can't give you an exact timeline, but maybe 1-2 months. I've had a few hens who've had it and I didn't notice until they completely stopped laying and it's been a while... Visually, she looks really healthy. So, unless she stops laying completely or lays a lash egg that indicates peritonitis, we don't have strong evidence for internal laying as of right now, other than that she slowed down laying (which can be caused by a lot of things). All this to say I don't think you should worry about it right now since she seems healthy otherwise.

I went back and checked your first post where you mentioned she only started laying in July. What Bawkbok was saying about pullets taking time to settle into their routine is true, so it could just be that.

Either way, you have the camera which is a huge plus, so you can keep watching her egg-laying status. You'll know if she stops laying completely (like a month of no eggs), but hopefully she'll be back to full production soon. In the meantime, make sure she's getting enough calcium through either layer feed or oyster shell and enjoy the eggs from the rest of your hens