PioneerChicks
Naturalist
Hey ya'all!
So to start I'll tell you that three of my pullets started laying last autumn, and two of them layed eggs that were unusually long. Sometimes the eggs have small wrinkles on the pointy egg and slight noticeable lumpy sides. (They are a polish and a Easter Egger.) The EE's eggs are extremely pointy for an egg. I worried that they might become eggbound, but for the most part ignored it.
A few days ago my two hens started laying again after a long winter break (a 2-3 year old Auracana and a 6-8 year old Rhode Island Red). Their eggs used to be normal shaped, but are now long and pointy. The old RIR's have the same lumpy sides as the pullets' eggs.
I recently realized that my OEG pullet started laying and has been hiding a nest for around three weeks in a pile of dead branches. Her eggs are extra long too!
I wouldn't really care about any of this except for that I worry that they might get eggbound. In fact, I suspect that the polish pullet-almost-hen may be eggbound right now, but I can't be sure until morning.
I have recently had some rough experiences with eggbinding. I had four hens to eggbound in a row, all within four months, and all of them died. One of them for her egg out after nearly a week of struggle, and we think it was a lash egg, but got eggbound again a week later and died. They might have had bird lice throughout this, and may still have lice (I'm doing the best I can!).
They have plenty of calcium because I give them dried and crushed eggshells, so that's not the problem.
Does anybody know what's going on here? I don't think this fits in the "Emergencies/Diseases/Injuries and Cures" forum, but this is pretty urgent. Any advice will be appreciated.
Here is a picture of the eggs belonging to the old RIR, EE pullet, and OEGB pullet.
So to start I'll tell you that three of my pullets started laying last autumn, and two of them layed eggs that were unusually long. Sometimes the eggs have small wrinkles on the pointy egg and slight noticeable lumpy sides. (They are a polish and a Easter Egger.) The EE's eggs are extremely pointy for an egg. I worried that they might become eggbound, but for the most part ignored it.
A few days ago my two hens started laying again after a long winter break (a 2-3 year old Auracana and a 6-8 year old Rhode Island Red). Their eggs used to be normal shaped, but are now long and pointy. The old RIR's have the same lumpy sides as the pullets' eggs.
I recently realized that my OEG pullet started laying and has been hiding a nest for around three weeks in a pile of dead branches. Her eggs are extra long too!
I wouldn't really care about any of this except for that I worry that they might get eggbound. In fact, I suspect that the polish pullet-almost-hen may be eggbound right now, but I can't be sure until morning.
I have recently had some rough experiences with eggbinding. I had four hens to eggbound in a row, all within four months, and all of them died. One of them for her egg out after nearly a week of struggle, and we think it was a lash egg, but got eggbound again a week later and died. They might have had bird lice throughout this, and may still have lice (I'm doing the best I can!).
They have plenty of calcium because I give them dried and crushed eggshells, so that's not the problem.
Does anybody know what's going on here? I don't think this fits in the "Emergencies/Diseases/Injuries and Cures" forum, but this is pretty urgent. Any advice will be appreciated.
Here is a picture of the eggs belonging to the old RIR, EE pullet, and OEGB pullet.
