Ring around the egg?

[aart]

oh and for a few years I would only keep one of each breed so I could be super duper nerdy and track egg production by the day, knowing which egg came from which hen regardless if you saw it.

I did that with my first batch of 6 pullets, all eggs were unique enough to tell apart(after I did the 'sit in the coop for hours to find out who laid what'), tracked them for a year..maybe longer.

 

[CaptainSamH]

What Jolenesdad said. GC View attachment 1947688
From Alltech.

OMG. I was literally about to post another pic that had the two eggs next to each other just like that! That may help me identify who laid them because I was there when the pulley who was sitting on the second one got up. I'm also interested in the list of causes as we may have a parasite situation - that chicken isn't displaying any symptoms, but another one is and one passed over the weekend. I also found a collapsed egg (Is that the right terminology for something that looks like a deflated balloon?) a few weeks ago.

 

[tn_artist]

Nah. Is there a way to rig the coop to tell who lays where? (Is that a ridiculous question?)

At the moment, I have 5 pullets with food color paste on/in their vents, a different color for each bird. Hopefully I will be able to ID who laid what and where by matching color on egg with vent color. I'm just trying to figure out who is laying the pinkish egg with purple spots.

 

[CaptainSamH]

At the moment, I have 5 pullets with food color paste on/in their vents, a different color for each bird. Hopefully I will be able to ID who laid what and where by matching color on egg with vent color. I'm just trying to figure out who is laying the pinkish egg with purple spots.

That's awesome. Feels like there's a Dr. Seuss story in there somewhere .

 

[CaptainSamH]

This is a “white banded egg”.

this egg stopped in production and tbe next one ran into it. It gets an extra coating of calcium, and the ring forms.

it’s a hiccup in the system, but nothing to be too alarmed at. A lot of times it is caused by stress, like, being kicked out of the box by another chicken, or bullied. Sometimes it’s a constant thing, and sometimes just occasionally.

I have a hen that spent a good 7 months with a white banded egg every two days, immediately followed, sometimes within an hour or two, by a soft shelled egg. Don’t be alarmed if you find soft shelled eggs afterward.

Ok, so I might be dealing with the aoft shell thing now. I can't guarantee which layers (I'm not nearly as dialed in as women of these awesome folks here) are peoducing these lot, but for the last two days I've gotten soft shelled eggs that have broken in the nesting box. See photos...

 

[jolenesdad]

Ok, so I might be dealing with the aoft shell thing now. I can't guarantee which layers (I'm not nearly as dialed in as women of these awesome folks here) are peoducing these lot, but for the last two days I've gotten soft shelled eggs that have broken in the nesting box. See photos...

I think you have a stressed chicken, if it were my guess. It could be something totally random, but I would maybe try and create some sort of additional privacy with your nesting boxes? Or also potentially a larger box? That way she either could not worry about what else is going on with more privacy or also could not be pushed out if that’s the issue and instead share the space? Just a couple of random suggestions...

But also are you getting more than one soft shelled egg a day?

 

[cmom]

OMG. I was literally about to post another pic that had the two eggs next to each other just like that! That may help me identify who laid them because I was there when the pulley who was sitting on the second one got up. I'm also interested in the list of causes as we may have a parasite situation - that chicken isn't displaying any symptoms, but another one is and one passed over the weekend. I also found a collapsed egg (Is that the right terminology for something that looks like a deflated balloon?) a few weeks ago.

If your birds do have parasites, one of the best ways and time to check them over is at night after they roost. Some pest only come out at night to feed on the birds. I use a head lamp so I have my hands free and check the birds after they go to roost. It would be something you would want to treat ASAP and if you do find something, my recommendation would be treating with permethrin. There are other products that are effective too but very expensive. I have tried a lot of different things. I use permethrin. It works. If you have a TSC they carry the permethrin powder, premixed spray bottles and the concentrate. No egg withdrawal period. I also put some of the dust in the nest boxes. It does take a few weekly thoroughly spraying everywhere, on and under the rooosts, every crack and crevice in the coop to completely eradicate them. Permethrin does not kill the pests eggs so repeated spraying or dusting is necessary.

 

[CaptainSamH]

I think you have a stressed chicken, if it were my guess. It could be something totally random, but I would maybe try and create some sort of additional privacy with your nesting boxes? Or also potentially a larger box? That way she either could not worry about what else is going on with more privacy or also could not be pushed out if that’s the issue and instead share the space? Just a couple of random suggestions...

But also are you getting more than one soft shelled egg a day?

There's more I do in my other posts, but I feel like the coop ( and our home) has been a stressful place overall for the last month...our daughter had a serious injury thatvupended things and the coop definitely got neglected. I ended up removing a set of nesting boxes that the chickens had just started pooping in (some laid in the other set of nesting boxes and some found a spot in the corner on the bedding), though the math still works out for chicken-to-box ratio. We also lost one of our older chickens - unknown cause (where we would have sent her to get a necropsy is way too $$$), but I have some ideas...
We have not had more than one soft shell per day.

You've given me some good ideas, as I do feel like we need to refit the coop - the nesting boxes aren't super private (they can easily hop over the barrier between them) and they are pretty much exactly 1 sq.ft.

 

[cmom]

Do you give your birds oyster shells. Just curious. Now and ten I put some in my birds feeders and they take what they want. Many people won't agree with this method but it works for me. I tried putting the oyster shells in separate heavy duty rubber feed dishes but the birds would still knock them over and the oyster shells would end up all over the floor and the birds didn't touch them then. I have experienced thin, soft and shell-less eggs in the past. Most often it is new layers working out the kinks. My nest boxes are open. The birds lay in them. There is plenty of roost space so I don't have issues with birds sleeping and pooping in the nest boxes. I have had a bird that tried but I put wire in the box she kept trying to sleep in. She didn't have any interest in the other nest boxes and wanted to be in one particular nest box. She quit trying to sleep in the box when I put the wire in it. I do have golf balls in the nest boxes. I have one pullet that recently started to lay and wants to lay her eggs on the floor. Hopefully soon she will give it up. Good luck and have fun...

 

[jolenesdad]

Do you give your birds oyster shells. Just curious. Now and ten I put some in my birds feeders and they take what they want. Many people won't agree with this method but it works for me. I tried putting the oyster shells in separate heavy duty rubber feed dishes but the birds would still knock them over and the oyster shells would end up all over the floor and the birds didn't touch them then. I have experienced thin, soft and shell-less eggs in the past. Most often it is new layers working out the kinks. My nest boxes are open. The birds lay in them. There is plenty of roost space so I don't have issues with birds sleeping and pooping in the nest boxes. I have had a bird that tried but I put wire in the box she kept trying to sleep in. She didn't have any interest in the other nest boxes and wanted to be in one particular nest box. She quit trying to sleep in the box when I put the wire in it. I do have golf balls in the nest boxes. I have one pullet that recently started to lay and wants to lay her eggs on the floor. Hopefully soon she will give it up. Good luck and have fun...

I agree, sometimes the only choice is adding the oyster in the feed dish.

chicken rules are made to be broken.

also, a nighttime check for parasites couldn’t hurt.