Quote:
Our RIR started laying about a month ago and our EE and SLW haven't started yet. This past week I've found soft-shelled eggs under the roost, always one well-formed one plus a second smaller one which is sometimes broken. Today I found the same and now my RIR is in the nest box looking like she's trying to lay a hard egg. Do their ovaries drop eggs and then they have to deal with it regardless of whether or not they have enough calcium, it's a hot day, they're stressed, etc.? I'm wondering if this is perhaps why she's laying soft shelled eggs in the evening right after or before she lays a normal egg. Also, the egg color hasn't been the same brown since all this started--one day I found a hard egg that had a sandy coating and the next day she layed a soft egg. The following day no egg, then the next day another hard egg that was lighter brown but speckled. Then this morning the two soft-shelled eggs.
I'm also not 100% sure they're all coming from the RIR, but like I said I haven't seen the other two lay yet. They do have oyster shell and I've started to feed them shells too. I've also given them yogurt the past few days. It did get pretty hot for Seattle yesterday (past 80 degrees) so maybe this is what's going on? We leave for vacation next weekend and I'm concerned about not being able to monitor them while we're gone for the week, to be sure they're all right.
Our RIR started laying about a month ago and our EE and SLW haven't started yet. This past week I've found soft-shelled eggs under the roost, always one well-formed one plus a second smaller one which is sometimes broken. Today I found the same and now my RIR is in the nest box looking like she's trying to lay a hard egg. Do their ovaries drop eggs and then they have to deal with it regardless of whether or not they have enough calcium, it's a hot day, they're stressed, etc.? I'm wondering if this is perhaps why she's laying soft shelled eggs in the evening right after or before she lays a normal egg. Also, the egg color hasn't been the same brown since all this started--one day I found a hard egg that had a sandy coating and the next day she layed a soft egg. The following day no egg, then the next day another hard egg that was lighter brown but speckled. Then this morning the two soft-shelled eggs.
I'm also not 100% sure they're all coming from the RIR, but like I said I haven't seen the other two lay yet. They do have oyster shell and I've started to feed them shells too. I've also given them yogurt the past few days. It did get pretty hot for Seattle yesterday (past 80 degrees) so maybe this is what's going on? We leave for vacation next weekend and I'm concerned about not being able to monitor them while we're gone for the week, to be sure they're all right.
