When looking at a problem I try to decide if it is a single hen issue or a flockwide problem. When this thread started I thought it was probably a single hen issue but after this I think it may be a flockwide problem. I hate to say this but I think you might want to talk to a vet that knows chickens. You might call your county extension office and chat with them on how to go about that.
Glad to read this. My barred rock (23 weeks today) laid her first egg April 3rd which was perfect. Then she laid another perfect egg the next day. A day or two later she laid a Shelless egg covered in egg yolk, so like she released another yolk that did t make it in. The next day, she just squirted out an egg with no membrane at all!Hopefully the final update as long as things don't go backwards! Our problem pullet was in and out of the nesting boxes all afternoon and we got this big ole 2 oz egg from her! Only one egg and shell is perfect! We ordered some flaked oyster shell that should be here Sunday to hopefully continue forward progress, but in the meantime will continue supplementing with some crushed egg shells and maybe a half of the calcium pill a day just to make sure she doesn't go back to old issues.
Thanks for keeping me sane!
Glad to read this. My barred rock (23 weeks today) laid her first egg April 3rd which was perfect. Then she laid another perfect egg the next day. A day or two later she laid a Shelless egg covered in egg yolk, so like she released another yolk that didnt make it in. The next day (April 8) she just squirted out an egg with no membrane at all! Then, the evening after (April 9) she laid a soft shell in the evening and then a hard shell yesterday morning (slab sided). So, that’s basically a 12 hour gap between eggs. I went into the coop this morning and there were TWO membrane eggs under where she roosts! When is she going to straighten herself out? She is not acting sick and is eating vigorously, dust bathing, foraging all day. She gets high quality laying feed and free choice oyster shell and I’ve been supplementing her with 600mg cal citrate and D3 and crushed egg shells. She forages 6 hours a day on 1/2 acre. Her sister (same age, same breed) is not having these issue and laying a beautiful hard egg every day. So, we are going on 4 days of weird eggs and multiple eggs per day from her.Hopefully the final update as long as things don't go backwards! Our problem pullet was in and out of the nesting boxes all afternoon and we got this big ole 2 oz egg from her! Only one egg and shell is perfect! We ordered some flaked oyster shell that should be here Sunday to hopefully continue forward progress, but in the meantime will continue supplementing with some crushed egg shells and maybe a half of the calcium pill a day just to make sure she doesn't go back to old issues.
Thanks for keeping me sane!
New layers can be a bit wonky for a while starting out. Keep on doing as you've been and hopefully things will sort themselves out
This sounds basically identical to what we were going through with our barred rock. I will say that she's still off and on got some weird stuff happening with her eggs (almost every egg is a double yolker except for maybe one or two). Occasionally we will still get a random soft shelled egg or two overnight and a slab sided egg also later in the day. Overall though we haven't noticed any lethargy again so as long as she's passing the eggs, eating, drinking and acting normal we're just leaving her be to get herself sorted out.
Really helpful. Thanks for your reply. I’ll update in a few weeks!This sounds basically identical to what we were going through with our barred rock. I will say that she's still off and on got some weird stuff happening with her eggs (almost every egg is a double yolker except for maybe one or two). Occasionally we will still get a random soft shelled egg or two overnight and a slab sided egg also later in the day. Overall though we haven't noticed any lethargy again so as long as she's passing the eggs, eating, drinking and acting normal we're just leaving her be to get herself sorted out.
We did figure out shortly after this thread that my pullets weren't eating the new layer food we had switched them to and we attributed that to our 'flock' egg problem. Since we switched the food back to Layena Pearls they have been eating more and we've been seeing less egg issues.
From everything I've read and heard it can take a month or two for them to work out these weird reproductive quirks. If yours only laid her first one on the 4th I would try not to worry too much. We have one that's been laying since March 18th and she still has the occasional hiccup.
