Weird Egglaying?

[Delaneygraces]

Hello! yesterday I went out to let me Modern Bantams out, and one of my girls was all puffed up, wouldn’t move, except to hide under her roosters belly. Well,since I was there to let them out I turned everyone loose except this B.B. red hen. After inspecting her, careful not to move her too much, I noticed her vent was all swollen and covered with a bit of blood, and there was a tiny speck of white, that looked like an egg in there. She normally lays an egg every 2-3 Days, so this wasn’t a surprise. But what truly DID surprise me, was when, WHILE standing up, she squared a tiny bit, like she was going to poop. But instead of poop, a white egg plopped to the ground, and cracked a little at the impact.
All my other hens make themselves a nice little spot, then sit there for a while, slowly laying their egg. Is there a reason why my B.B. red lates it while standing? Is this a habit that can be fixed, to prevent broken eggs? I’d like to hatch some of her babies this year, but I can’t if they are broken. All her other eggs have been cracked, I just never though anything of it. A reckless, heavy Roo walking around could’ve easily stepped on it, or she could’ve smashed it. But I’ve found it’s due to the laying while standing.
Any help would be wonderful!

 

[sumi]

I caught quite a few of my hens in the act of laying and even snapped a pic of one that snuck into my bedroom one day to lay on top of a quilt I was making:

They all stood up like this when they pushed the egg out, letting it drop. The best way to prevent breakages is to ensure they have a nice padded nest box, plenty of shavings, straw, sand, or dry grass in there as bedding and the hens have access to enough calcium in their diets to ensure strong egg shells.

 

[Flockandfowl46]

Chickens naturally take a standing haunch when " laying "

 

[Delaneygraces]

I caught quite a few of my hens in the act of laying and even snapped a pic of one that snuck into my bedroom one day to lay on top of a quilt I was making:

View attachment 1505747

They all stood up like this when they pushed the egg out, letting it drop. The best way to prevent breakages is to ensure they have a nice padded nest box, plenty of shavings, straw, sand, or dry grass in there as bedding and the hens have access to enough calcium in their diets to ensure strong egg shells.

Ok, good to know there are others!
Her pen naturally gets extra sawdust, since there are two birds. I use large shavings, put about half an inch on the bottom of the pen, then cover it with fine shavings, that clumps the poop better, helping keep their feet clean. I don’t use nest boxes, (unless momma has bitttes) since the boxes would take up a lot of room, leaving almost no space to move around.
But I’ll try adding extra shavings! She lays drom the perch as well, and I don’t want to remove since they both sleep up there. It’s pretty close to the ground as well.

 

[aart]

I believe all chicken stand when the egg actually emerges from the vent.
Having real nests with good bedding would probably eliminate your broken egg problem.
If your coop is tight on space, the nests can hang off the outside of coop but be accessible from inside the coop.