Soft shells and maybe hen not laying?

[5Buffies]

Hi! I have 5 eight months old buff Orpingtons that have been great layers up until recently. It’s October in Seattle and the days are getting shorter so I’m guessing this is part of the reason why. There’s other things going on too though and I’m confused as to what’s happening.

In the past week or two we’ve had a couple of soft shelled eggs that someone has kicked out of the nest box and into the center of the coop. I found an egg in the middle of the coop with the shell to the side (pic below). I’m not sure if it was laid like or landed like this after being kicked out of the nest box. Today I found a wet spot in the coop under their perch that felt sticky like egg white (pic). No yolk or shell to be seen. We also have a chicken (Phoebe) who has been going into the nest box for awhile, then leaves without laying. I’m not sure if she has laid other times that I didn’t see.

I gave them 2 big pumpkins about 2 weeks ago and left them in their run. After reading some threads I realized they were probably eating too much pumpkin and not enough layer feed and that’s probably what was causing the soft shells. Last week I took the pumpkins out.

I’m not sure if it’s related but I also found this blood in the coop (pic) the other day. I didn’t see any of the chickens bleeding but Phoebe also had a smear of blood on her beak and foot.

I’m wondering how long it should take for all of their egg shells to be hard again once they’re back on the feed. The rest of the eggs have been fine so I think it’s only 1-2 chickens that were affected. I’m also wondering if there is some way I can check the birds to see if they’re ok. I picked them all up and looked at their vents but nothing was hanging out or bleeding. I’m not sure which chicken is laying the soft eggs or if it’s normal for a chicken to go to the nest box and not lay. I’d love some insight from someone more experienced. Thank you!!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Do you feed anything other than layer feed (and the pumpkins), any other treats? Do you have oyster shell or egg shell available?

The blood I wouldn't worry about if you don't see more of it. Sometimes birds cut their combs or toes and they can bleed quite heavily for a short period of time, so it looks scary, but they usually heal up quickly without issue.

 

[5Buffies]

Do you feed anything other than layer feed (and the pumpkins), any other treats? Do you have oyster shell or egg shell available?

The blood I wouldn't worry about if you don't see more of it. Sometimes birds cut their combs or toes and they can bleed quite heavily for a short period of time, so it looks scary, but they usually heal up quickly without issue.

Thank you. They have crushed up eggshells available all the time and I occasionally sprinkle oyster shell pieces around the run or mix them in with the eggshells. They don’t seem to like them as much as the eggshells. I off and on give them “Ultimate Scratch “ seeds but it’s about 1 Tbsp for 5 birds because they absolutely love it and get violent over it! Other than that, whatever they find when they’re foraging around in the yard for about an hr/day.

And after reading a little more on this site, I’m wondering if some of the eggs I’ve found in the middle of the coop might have been laid at night and not kicked out of the nest. At least one or two were under the perch.

 

[rosemarythyme]

And after reading a little more on this site, I’m wondering if some of the eggs I’ve found in the middle of the coop might have been laid at night and not kicked out of the nest. At least one or two were under the perch.

Yes that's possible if they're under the roost area. Even hens that have been laying a while can occasionally drop an egg down there.

 

[5Buffies]

Yes that's possible if they're under the roost area. Even hens that have been laying a while can occasionally drop an egg down there.

Good to know. Do you recommend I do anything at this point? They all seem to be energetic and behaving normally. Would one be lethargic or obviously affected if she had egg parts stuck in her or whatever the problem could be? I don’t really know enough to know what the problems could be. It worries me if one is going to the nest box and sitting but not laying eggs. Thank you for your help!

 

[rosemarythyme]

Good to know. Do you recommend I do anything at this point? They all seem to be energetic and behaving normally. Would one be lethargic or obviously affected if she had egg parts stuck in her or whatever the problem could be? I don’t really know enough to know what the problems could be. It worries me if one is going to the nest box and sitting but not laying eggs. Thank you for your help!

I would see if I could possibly figure out which bird it was - for example, if you check where each bird sits on the roost each night, and then sort of match up the location of a soft egg to the bird or two above it, you might be able to whittle it down to the most likely culprit. At that point you can try directly supplementing her with calcium to help with shelling, as some birds don't intake enough on their own and/or have a higher calcium need than average.

As far as the one that goes and sits on the nest but doesn't leave an egg, sometimes that's just a behavioral or hormonal thing and not necessarily related to problems laying, i.e. I have hens that have no reason to be laying (retired, post-broody, or post-molt) that will still on occasion go and sit in the box and act like they're thinking of laying, but I know not to expect an egg there when they get up and leave.

Generally unlikely that a bird showing normal activity levels with occasional soft eggs or eggs off the roost to have the obvious internal issues you've probably heard about, like egg binding.

 

[5Buffies]

I would see if I could possibly figure out which bird it was - for example, if you check where each bird sits on the roost each night, and then sort of match up the location of a soft egg to the bird or two above it, you might be able to whittle it down to the most likely culprit. At that point you can try directly supplementing her with calcium to help with shelling, as some birds don't intake enough on their own and/or have a higher calcium need than average.

As far as the one that goes and sits on the nest but doesn't leave an egg, sometimes that's just a behavioral or hormonal thing and not necessarily related to problems laying, i.e. I have hens that have no reason to be laying (retired, post-broody, or post-molt) that will still on occasion go and sit in the box and act like they're thinking of laying, but I know not to expect an egg there when they get up and leave.

Generally unlikely that a bird showing normal activity levels with occasional soft eggs or eggs off the roost to have the obvious internal issues you've probably heard about, like egg binding.

Thank you for those suggestions and that info! I am trying to figure out who is laying and have been tracking where they sleep. I haven't been finding any soft eggs or weirdness in the coop recently, so that's great. Today I noticed that one of the birds has a comb that looks more pink than red, and I think this is a recent change. Do you think that could be related to egg laying problems?

 

[rosemarythyme]

Today I noticed that one of the birds has a comb that looks more pink than red, and I think this is a recent change.

Unlikely, but wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on it to see if there's any other changes in that bird, just as a general overall health matter.

 

[5Buffies]

Unlikely, but wouldn't hurt to keep an eye on it to see if there's any other changes in that bird, just as a general overall health matter.

I actually think she is molting! I noticed she was dropping a bit more feathers lately. She's only 7 months old so I figured it wasn't that, but today I checked her out and saw some pin feathers near her vent. She is quite a bit bigger than the other birds and I guess is just maturing faster. These birds are always keeping me guessing!