Michigan Thread - all are welcome!

[Chickin Fairy]

****This could be a gross post, so please skip if you're squeamish about weird eggs****

Hey, all. Need a little help. One of my hens was laying her egg later into the evening on Saturday night. I went to check on her because that is unusual and she sort of squirted yolk-like material out of her and had a softshell hanging from her vent. I pulled it out and she was fine. She's been eating and drinking and running around like normal.

She laid an egg Sunday that was a regular (but noticably larger) egg, with a normal shell, and when I cracked it open, it had a smaller softshelled egg where the yolk should be, when I broke open the second egg, there was another eggshell membrane inside. I've been giving them all extra calcium and have been watching her closely, she is acting completely normal. She did not lay yesterday.

Any advice? Do I intervene with extra calcium like Tums now or wait this out?

 

[fuzzi]

I'll let someone with more experience and knowledge answer, but will be interested in the response.

 

[Folly's place]

Her 'egg production plumbing' is malfuctioning, and may or may not straighten itself out. What are you feeding? Adequate calcium is good, too much or too little isn't helpful, but be unrelated to this issue. a layer type feed without too many extra goodies, or an all flock feed with oyster shell in a separate dish should be fine too.
If your extra oyster shell feeder is in an out of the way location, having it out where it's easy for everyone to get to it might be better.
Even two year old high producing hens can develop issues, sadly.
Our youngest ever pullet with bad reproductive problems was seven MONTHS old!
Mary

 

[talkinboutchickens]

Sounds like the local bureaucrats think they are an HOA. You need 5 acres to own chickens? Madness.

Yeah I totally don't get it. I know people with less property than that (not in Midland township), who own chickens without any issues.
Just to think that if everyone had chickens, there wouldn't have to be all these awful egg industries
https://pin.it/1uth1AI96

 

[Chickin Fairy]

Her 'egg production plumbing' is malfuctioning, and may or may not straighten itself out. What are you feeding? Adequate calcium is good, too much or too little isn't helpful, but be unrelated to this issue. a layer type feed without too many extra goodies, or an all flock feed with oyster shell in a separate dish should be fine too.
If your extra oyster shell feeder is in an out of the way location, having it out where it's easy for everyone to get to it might be better.
Even two year old high producing hens can develop issues, sadly.
Our youngest ever pullet with bad reproductive problems was seven MONTHS old!
Mary

Thankfully, this did end up resolving itself. She laid a perfectly normal egg today. I give them back the shells from what I use. I have a layer feed and only give minimal kitchen scraps on the side, and not daily. I don't feed any scratch and only occasional treats (mealworms). Maybe I will pull back on the calcium. Her egg had a lot of calcium deposits along with another hen of mine who always has some extra deposits on hers. Thank you!

 

[Sally PB]

Has anyone heard from @aart?

 

[1muttsfan]

I agree with Mary, reproductive tract issues can arise in any hen, and will sometimes fix themselves, but not always. Also, a good balanced layer diet with calcium always available offered on the side should provide plenty of calcium for any laying bird. Having it available free choice allows them to take in what they need, rather than us trying to guess how much to give them. I would not recommend top dressing their feed with any form of calcium.

 

[1muttsfan]

Aart posted on a different thread on Thursday

 

[Hillbilly Hen]

The new family farm and home store opened today in Fremont. I ended up coming home with 4 chicks. Two black Australorps and two welsummers. I have been waiting for the black Australorps to come in at the Newaygo store so I was happy to find them today. And so begins my adventure back to the chicken life.

 

[TheDandyLion]

Congrats. All babies are adorable and hard to resist, but there is something about those little chipmunk stripes

Anyone had a 15 month old go broody to never lay again? My RIR (now 2 years old) who was broody last July hasn't laid since. It took over a week to break her broodiness, then she molted in August. I figured early-ish molt, and dropping daylight hours, fine no eggs. But it is now nearly April, everyone else has resumed egg laying, even my hen who molted through January, into February. I'm still hoping that given time she will, but her comb is very pale still.