Too much pumpkin?

[Nugget]

Hi all, after halloween I put the jack-o-lantern in the chickens' run. They've been working their way through it day by day since. Some like it more than others. Yesterday I picked up 2 odd eggs in the coop. 1 sounded like a pingpong ball when touched (high pitched tapping or brushing sound). It was strangely shaped and white (mine are brown egg layers). The other egg was soft. The membrane wasn't broken but it sagged like a half-filled water balloon. Today I saw on their droppings board a 'cracked egg' amidst the poo, and what looked like a hatched turtle egg (a shrivelled leathery white empty shell). I'm still getting a good number of nice eggs from my hens so not all of them are doing this. Most of them are young and it is possible these have been the first eggs from one of my hens.

Would you take the pumpkin away to encourage them to fill up on their lay ration instead, or not worry about it. It's nearly finished anyway. Or is this not likely to be related to pumpkin at all?

 

[silkiechicken]

Probably over ate on their treats! Should go back to normal soon. Shows they don't always have self control!

 

[antlers]

Unless they are laying pies, I would not worry about it. Most likely new girls laying some of their first dozen....

 

[ChickenLuva]

I've occasionally gotten those soft shelled, misshapen "jelly eggs" we called them. When we first got the hens had a small water dispenser that would occasionally run out of water before we'd notice. We're only talking about a few hours, but if the ladies went without water for any span of time, we'd get jelly eggs the next day. We added a second waterer, twice the size and haven't had the problem ever again. Don't know if that applies to you at all, but that's the only time I've ever seen that.

Do hens get diarrhea that could make them slightly dehydrated? Maybe if they had too much rotting jack-o-lantern?
Just a thought.

 

[Nugget]

Thanks all!

The waterer isn't "empty" but it is close... I'm going to fill it tomorrow. I wonder if they weren't quite getting all the water they like... Oh well. No pies yet but if there are I'll take pictures

 

[WriterofWords]

I dare you to take Nugget's pumpkin away from him! Blue and Penny finished their little pumpkin and tried to swipe Nugget's, not even! He did the "Dino Roo" on the both of them, picked up his pumpkin and walked off with it hanging from his beak.