Okay, well crack it and be sure it's a real egg... If it is, then I wouldn't worry. New layers often have issues getting things worked out at first.Hi, Bob.Grit here is a mix of oyster shell, crushed sea shells & tiny rocks or @ least that's what I see in mine. There may be other stuff...
Lottie isn't 1 yet. This is her first laying season.
We have had a couple of stinkers in a row: 30C+ with no sea breeze. I thought the girls were coping remarkably well. Apart from Lottie, who has a rose comb, all my girls sport large singles & their run & coop have plenty of shade to catch any breeze going.
Dinner has been going down a little later. I ran out of lettuce scraps so treated the girls to a little watermelon this afternoon & so far as I could tell everyone was doing just fine in the heat.
So imagine my horror when I go to feed them & find Lottie all hunched over, wings drooping in the dust & not rushing to hop in my lap to stuff her face.
She is such a sweet bird & holds her own amongst my standards. After my initial panic I sat & observed. Lottie's face & comb were bright, bright red & her bottom was spasming...ok, she doesn't lay that often & we've been having shell~less eggs from her for a while, usually dropped when roosting, but I figured she wasn't keen on going into the coop in all the heat so I let her be. I checked a couple of times & she was still @ it. Visions of egg binding & a tiny, tiny bird...
When I went out to check roosting was taking place peacefully, Lottie was in the food tub in the coop chowing down like there was no tomorrow. I got her some water & she went to roost with a full crop.
Her egg was in a nesting box ~ completely shell~less & with this strange little piggy~tail.You can see where the calcium has sort of started to form the shell.
We have grit & Lottie knows where to find it. She used to be quite the little piggy about her grit so not sure what's going on there.
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And a couple of snaps of tonight's sunset.View attachment 1981694
Yes, it is hot.
Yes the breeze is now picking up.
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Why won't these girls eat their grit?
You can lead a chicken to grit but...
We haven't seen proper sky in weeks due to the smoke haze so the sunset was doubly appreciated!
It's the ****** chickens that stop me having a holiday.
We had high temperatures of 41C to 42C here the summer before last and for weeks temperatures over 30C.We have had a couple of stinkers in a row: 30C+ with no sea breeze. I thought the girls were coping remarkably well. Apart from Lottie, who has a rose comb, all my girls sport large singles & their run & coop have plenty of shade to catch any breeze going.
Dinner has been going down a little later. I ran out of lettuce scraps so treated the girls to a little watermelon this afternoon & so far as I could tell everyone was doing just fine in the heat.
So imagine my horror when I go to feed them & find Lottie all hunched over, wings drooping in the dust & not rushing to hop in my lap to stuff her face.
She is such a sweet bird & holds her own amongst my standards. After my initial panic I sat & observed. Lottie's face & comb were bright, bright red & her bottom was spasming...ok, she doesn't lay that often & we've been having shell~less eggs from her for a while, usually dropped when roosting, but I figured she wasn't keen on going into the coop in all the heat so I let her be. I checked a couple of times & she was still @ it. Visions of egg binding & a tiny, tiny bird...
When I went out to check roosting was taking place peacefully, Lottie was in the food tub in the coop chowing down like there was no tomorrow. I got her some water & she went to roost with a full crop.
Her egg was in a nesting box ~ completely shell~less & with this strange little piggy~tail.
We have grit & Lottie knows where to find it. She used to be quite the little piggy about her grit so not sure what's going on there.
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There is a good article on egg abnormalities here.Wow, that is some weird egg.
Is there a thread for weird eggs? Maybe we should start one, it could be educational.
I've never seen one like Lottie's though. I hope she's ok Ribh. Deana is still laying thin shelled and occasionally shell-less too. Why won't these girls eat their grit?
Some Calcium directly down the throat is worth a try. People calcium pills will do. Crush them and add a tiny bit of honey then soak small pieces of bread in the solution and feed them to the hen.I don't know.
She seems ok & I'm not worried about the lack of proper eggs, but she knows she needs it so why won't she...? I am going to try a different grit arrangement & see if that makes a difference.
