Late bloomer? and Laying from the roosting bar..? I need some experienced input.

[FLXCHIX]

Some are. most not. It seems the broken are only from the fall. The girls have not been pecking at them. Consistently two on the floor now. One during the dark hours. I can tell when I wake still in the dark and check the camera. the girls are looking at the floor and I know someone has laid...never sure which. By the time I bundle up and go out to them a second egg is also on the ground, I am certain it is deliberately laid there because there is already a lot of action. Today - super early 2 on ground 2 in one small 12"x12" box and one in the other 12x12".... later my littlest girl will lay her tiny egg in the big box that is part of the coop. No human rhyme or reason...have not yet figured out how to think like a chicken! (BTW: became very very cold here in the last few days - and the clock reset has made mornings terribly dark. We are in the north part of CA) Thank you ALL. I have a few more tools in my quiver after just a day of these discussions. I am grateful...though still none-the wiser

Can you hang a tarp under the roost to catch the eggs? not sure of your set up. I have a tarp under the roost, but it is for the droppings that happen at night and that keeps the coop way cleaner. I have found a couple of eggs there when they started laying. Just trying to think of a way to at least keep eggs from breaking, until your girls get their act together.

 

[VSP]

Interesting idea. I will have to give that some thought. it is really wet and rainy today so any such project will have to wait...giving me time to brainstorm the feasibility given their set up. THANK YOU for the thought. If I can do it, I will let you know. I HAVE determined which girl is laying on the ground next to the dropped egg. I was very cleaver in figuring it out, but I am not sure what i do with the info to discourage her. I added a next box that looks just like the others, but put it on the ground below the roosts (not my favorite set up) in hopes that she would find that more appealing, but this morning she let me know that she is unimpressed with my ingenuity.

 

[VSP]

I am a relatively new chicken owner. I have had my 7 girls since they were a day old and all has been going well. I have five sex-links who are now 29 weeks old, one EasterEgger and one Bielefelder, each of whom are 28 weeks old. The girls have a large protected run and have access during the day hours to a much larger fenced area. They free feed and are also supplemented with organic greens from my garden or from our household discards. They all seem very healthy…. BUT of the seven I still get only six eggs maximum on any given day. Because they lay before I get down to them in the morning, I have no idea which one is not laying yet. Is it possible that she is this late, or is something wrong? On top of this and more distressing, one of the girls has begun to lay from the roosting bar in the dark hours of the morning; sometimes, but not always, leaving me to find a broken egg. And now another copying her by laying on the floor, too. This after a few weeks of the first doing it. They have plenty of nesting boxes. One larger one that is built into the custom coop, and two smaller separate ones that I added when they did not seem to like that one – though the builder insisted that they would. Only the little EasterEgger uses the big box where she leaves her tiny blue/white egg every day. So, I know she is not the culprit. All the other girls lay in one of the small 12” x 12”, DYI boxes that I added. How do I determine who is not yet laying. What might be the reason? And does anyone have an idea of how to break this new and awful habit of laying on the floor under the roosting bar? I am truly at a loss. (Oh, I added a camera, but the inferred light so I can see them in the dark hours, makes all the hens look identical, so even if I was to catch something in progress, I would be none the wiser.) Please help. THANK YOU

UPDATE: After adding additional boxes that are going unused and continuing to have eggs on the floor under the roost, I put up a temporary camera. I only caught one of the two hens in action, but it is more confusing than a hen preference. This girl seems to be dropping the egg without any awareness ... still in the dark of the wee hours - this was 5:28 a.m. And I cannot tell which it is because the IR light washes out all color in the darkened space. You can see it in this vid at about 47 seconds. 3rd hen from the right, though the first that is clear. So strange...

I am a relatively new chicken owner. I have had my 7 girls since they were a day old and all has been going well. I have five sex-links who are now 29 weeks old, one EasterEgger and one Bielefelder, each of whom are 28 weeks old. The girls have a large protected run and have access during the day hours to a much larger fenced area. They free feed and are also supplemented with organic greens from my garden or from our household discards. They all seem very healthy…. BUT of the seven I still get only six eggs maximum on any given day. Because they lay before I get down to them in the morning, I have no idea which one is not laying yet. Is it possible that she is this late, or is something wrong? On top of this and more distressing, one of the girls has begun to lay from the roosting bar in the dark hours of the morning; sometimes, but not always, leaving me to find a broken egg. And now another copying her by laying on the floor, too. This after a few weeks of the first doing it. They have plenty of nesting boxes. One larger one that is built into the custom coop, and two smaller separate ones that I added when they did not seem to like that one – though the builder insisted that they would. Only the little EasterEgger uses the big box where she leaves her tiny blue/white egg every day. So, I know she is not the culprit. All the other girls lay in one of the small 12” x 12”, DYI boxes that I added. How do I determine who is not yet laying. What might be the reason? And does anyone have an idea of how to break this new and awful habit of laying on the floor under the roosting bar? I am truly at a loss. (Oh, I added a camera, but the inferred light so I can see them in the dark hours, makes all the hens look identical, so even if I was to catch something in progress, I would be none the wiser.) Please help. THANK YOU

UPDATE: After adding additional boxes that are going unused and continuing to have eggs on the floor under the roost, I put up a temporary camera. I only caught one of the two hens in action, but it is more confusing than a hen preference. This girl seems to be dropping the egg without any awareness ... still in the dark of the wee hours - this was 5:28 a.m. And I cannot tell which it is because the IR light washes out all color in the darkened space. You can see it in this short video clip if you do not blink

I am a relatively new chicken owner. I have had my 7 girls since they were a day old and all has been going well. I have five sex-links who are now 29 weeks old, one EasterEgger and one Bielefelder, each of whom are 28 weeks old. The girls have a large protected run and have access during the day hours to a much larger fenced area. They free feed and are also supplemented with organic greens from my garden or from our household discards. They all seem very healthy…. BUT of the seven I still get only six eggs maximum on any given day. Because they lay before I get down to them in the morning, I have no idea which one is not laying yet. Is it possible that she is this late, or is something wrong? On top of this and more distressing, one of the girls has begun to lay from the roosting bar in the dark hours of the morning; sometimes, but not always, leaving me to find a broken egg. And now another copying her by laying on the floor, too. This after a few weeks of the first doing it. They have plenty of nesting boxes. One larger one that is built into the custom coop, and two smaller separate ones that I added when they did not seem to like that one – though the builder insisted that they would. Only the little EasterEgger uses the big box where she leaves her tiny blue/white egg every day. So, I know she is not the culprit. All the other girls lay in one of the small 12” x 12”, DYI boxes that I added. How do I determine who is not yet laying. What might be the reason? And does anyone have an idea of how to break this new and awful habit of laying on the floor under the roosting bar? I am truly at a loss. (Oh, I added a camera, but the inferred light so I can see them in the dark hours, makes all the hens look identical, so even if I was to catch something in progress, I would be none the wiser.) Please help. THANK YOU

UPDATE: After adding additional boxes that are going unused and continuing to have eggs on the floor under the roost, I put up a temporary camera. I only caught one of the two hens in action, but it is more confusing than a hen preference. This girl seems to be dropping the egg without any awareness ... still in the dark of the wee hours - this was 5:28 a.m. And I cannot tell which it is because the IR light washes out all color in the darkened space. I have tried to add the video for you, but cannot figure out how to do it. You can see it in this short clip of you do not blink. 3rd hen from the right, though the first that is clear. So strange...

I am a relatively new chicken owner. I have had my 7 girls since they were a day old and all has been going well. I have five sex-links who are now 29 weeks old, one EasterEgger and one Bielefelder, each of whom are 28 weeks old. The girls have a large protected run and have access during the day hours to a much larger fenced area. They free feed and are also supplemented with organic greens from my garden or from our household discards. They all seem very healthy…. BUT of the seven I still get only six eggs maximum on any given day. Because they lay before I get down to them in the morning, I have no idea which one is not laying yet. Is it possible that she is this late, or is something wrong? On top of this and more distressing, one of the girls has begun to lay from the roosting bar in the dark hours of the morning; sometimes, but not always, leaving me to find a broken egg. And now another copying her by laying on the floor, too. This after a few weeks of the first doing it. They have plenty of nesting boxes. One larger one that is built into the custom coop, and two smaller separate ones that I added when they did not seem to like that one – though the builder insisted that they would. Only the little EasterEgger uses the big box where she leaves her tiny blue/white egg every day. So, I know she is not the culprit. All the other girls lay in one of the small 12” x 12”, DYI boxes that I added. How do I determine who is not yet laying. What might be the reason? And does anyone have an idea of how to break this new and awful habit of laying on the floor under the roosting bar? I am truly at a loss. (Oh, I added a camera, but the inferred light so I can see them in the dark hours, makes all the hens look identical, so even if I was to catch something in progress, I would be none the wiser.) Please help. THANK YOU

I am a relatively new chicken owner. I have had my 7 girls since they were a day old and all has been going well. I have five sex-links who are now 29 weeks old, one EasterEgger and one Bielefelder, each of whom are 28 weeks old. The girls have a large protected run and have access during the day hours to a much larger fenced area. They free feed and are also supplemented with organic greens from my garden or from our household discards. They all seem very healthy…. BUT of the seven I still get only six eggs maximum on any given day. Because they lay before I get down to them in the morning, I have no idea which one is not laying yet. Is it possible that she is this late, or is something wrong? On top of this and more distressing, one of the girls has begun to lay from the roosting bar in the dark hours of the morning; sometimes, but not always, leaving me to find a broken egg. And now another copying her by laying on the floor, too. This after a few weeks of the first doing it. They have plenty of nesting boxes. One larger one that is built into the custom coop, and two smaller separate ones that I added when they did not seem to like that one – though the builder insisted that they would. Only the little EasterEgger uses the big box where she leaves her tiny blue/white egg every day. So, I know she is not the culprit. All the other girls lay in one of the small 12” x 12”, DYI boxes that I added. How do I determine who is not yet laying. What might be the reason? And does anyone have an idea of how to break this new and awful habit of laying on the floor under the roosting bar? I am truly at a loss. (Oh, I added a camera, but the inferred light so I can see them in the dark hours, makes all the hens look identical, so even if I was to catch something in progress, I would be none the wiser.) Please help. THANK YOU

UPDATE: After adding additional boxes that are going unused and continuing to have eggs on the floor under the roost, I put up a temporary camera. I only caught one of the two hens in action, but it is more confusing than a hen preference. This girl seems to be dropping the egg without any awareness ... still in the dark of the wee hours - this was 5:28 a.m. And I cannot tell which it is because the IR light washes out all color in the darkened space. I have tried to add the video for you, but cannot seem to get it to take no matter how short I make it. It is a shame as it is something to see.

 

[FLXCHIX]

UPDATE: After adding additional boxes that are going unused and continuing to have eggs on the floor under the roost, I put up a temporary camera. I only caught one of the two hens in action, but it is more confusing than a hen preference. This girl seems to be dropping the egg without any awareness ... still in the dark of the wee hours - this was 5:28 a.m. And I cannot tell which it is because the IR light washes out all color in the darkened space. You can see it in this vid at about 47 seconds. 3rd hen from the right, though the first that is clear. So strange...

UPDATE: After adding additional boxes that are going unused and continuing to have eggs on the floor under the roost, I put up a temporary camera. I only caught one of the two hens in action, but it is more confusing than a hen preference. This girl seems to be dropping the egg without any awareness ... still in the dark of the wee hours - this was 5:28 a.m. And I cannot tell which it is because the IR light washes out all color in the darkened space. You can see it in this short video clip if you do not blink


UPDATE: After adding additional boxes that are going unused and continuing to have eggs on the floor under the roost, I put up a temporary camera. I only caught one of the two hens in action, but it is more confusing than a hen preference. This girl seems to be dropping the egg without any awareness ... still in the dark of the wee hours - this was 5:28 a.m. And I cannot tell which it is because the IR light washes out all color in the darkened space. I have tried to add the video for you, but cannot figure out how to do it. You can see it in this short clip of you do not blink. 3rd hen from the right, though the first that is clear. So strange...



UPDATE: After adding additional boxes that are going unused and continuing to have eggs on the floor under the roost, I put up a temporary camera. I only caught one of the two hens in action, but it is more confusing than a hen preference. This girl seems to be dropping the egg without any awareness ... still in the dark of the wee hours - this was 5:28 a.m. And I cannot tell which it is because the IR light washes out all color in the darkened space. I have tried to add the video for you, but cannot seem to get it to take no matter how short I make it. It is a shame as it is something to see.

Any thought if the tarp/egg catcher could work?

 

[VSP]

Any thought if the tarp/egg catcher could work?

First, How strange that my post seems to have repeated 4 times. Not sure if it was something on my side but i apologize for that! I looked into that suggestion, but the way the coop is designed a tarp or sling would impair the hen's access to the roost entirely. There is just not enough clearance to do it. I did add bedding to the area just below to cushion the fall and that has eliminated any breakage, but the overnight poop of 7 hens still makes for an unhappy situation for me. I wish I was able to add the clip. The one hen I caught on camera is fast asleep. Then wake, stretches and the egg falls out of her and then she is back asleep. Not a sound from her... I do not think she is aware of the event. It is bizarre. I now have to figure out which it is and also catch the second stinker so I can see if it is similar or an entirely different situation. Such a mystery. Stay well....

 

[FLXCHIX]

Read a few different places that she will probably grow Out of this. I guess for now, it will be a nuisance. Out of curiosity, do you do the DLM or clean the poo everyday? I have six hens and wouldn’t want to contend with all that poop in their coop.

 

[VSP]

We have an open system that needs little or no maintenance. I occasionally collect the "deposits from under the roost to add to my compost, but this is a choice, not a requirement.... Eggs falling directly under the roost, however, seem to manage always to land in the nighttime mess. Thank you for the info, I have not read anything specific to this issue and you have given me hope that this may change. It is a nuisance, but not much more than that. Best to you and your girls, from me ands my seven.

 

[aart]

It would be good to see pics of your coop, inside and out, showing roosts and nests.