4m x 3m Omlet pen, cube, new auto door still boxed and coop light

[Busybird]

I'm really not sure if I have a problem or not

 

Chestnut has not laid a hard shelled egg since we returned from holiday last week. She looks healthy and seems fine in herself but has given us nothing but softies each day. I have given all the usual supplements to combat this but with no improvement.

 

Yesterday DS1 and I gave her a bath as she has had a very pooy bottom for months and I was worried about flystrike (no idea what this is but heeded warnings given here). She hated her bath and got quite upset.

 

Today, as well as a softie in the nesting box, the poo tray has really runny poos in it. I give bokashi so this is rare.

 

I am worried that all my interventions are doing more harm than good. OH suggests I just make them spend more time in the run (in case Chestnut is not laying because she is gorging herself around the garden instead of eating her pellets like a good chicky) and leave them alone. His sister keeps chickens in a box made from pallet wood with no run (they are free to roam the garden and croft) and feeds them kitchen s"Ooops, word censored!"s and anything else that comes to hand so my chicken larder, eglu palace and chickeny worries cause a lot of raised eyebrows.

 

I really don't want to stress Chestnut - I don't know what to do for the best. Any advice?

[chelsea]

I would agree with your husband and perhaps try and keep your hens in the run for longer, especially in the mornings to ensure they all eat their pellets. Do they have grit?

 

The warm bath you gave her probably helped her expell the soft shelled egg and to be honest I would always clean a dirty bum as this time of year with the warm weather it could attract flies and cause flystrike and I bet she felt tonnes better with a clean bum.

 

Have you wormed her recently? Dirty bums are often a symptom of worms or lice.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Can't really help with advice, just wanted to say that we've been getting softies for weeks now (a few hard shelled eggs too but they all seem to be doing the softies). Now someone is doing big splatty poos too .

 

I'm like you, dosing them with supplements but so far, to no avail . (Three softies yesterday & such a big splat that it's covered the outside of the poo tray .)

 

So I sympathise although I can't help!