My eco solution to rat problems

[chocolatedog]

Hi there......recently I've noticed that Ginger (Rhode Star about 16 months old maybe) has lost some of the feathers round her neck area. I thought it was probably just a moult as she seems to be behaving pretty normally - ie escaping from the netting area, scratching and eating as normal etc. The only other thing wrong with her is that her eggs over the past week have all been a funny shape - all slightly elongated and straighter rather than being the classic egg shape with the slightly fatter end.......I haven't noticed anything else though. (Except that this morning's egg had a slight 'crease' in it at one point.) Will the eggs still be safe to eat? Should I be worried? Are the eggs and the slight moult linked? The other girls seem to be fine - no moult (although they've both got bare breasts as they've both been broody over the past couple of months!) and normal shaped eggs.

[Poplars]

if she is escaping the run with more vigour than before and has a balding neck, I would guess it is a bit of bullying?

 

The stress could cause the weird eggs

 

If there is no blood or anything then you can try and dissuade the other chooks by spraying them with water, or seperating them for a while

 

Hope this helps but someone else will be along at some point with more useful advice

 

Eve

[Egluntyne]

It could be a mini moult. Typically the neck feathers are involved.

 

Laying can be disrupted during a moult, so it is probably nothing to worry about.......and yes, there is no reason why you should not eat the eggs.

[Olly]

One of mine always lays pointy eggs! It's just a little peculiarity.

 

I'd suspect bullying for the missing neck-feathers, but it could be a mini-moult. The eggs will be fine to eat either way.