Chicken bald back

[ChickenPoopGarden]

So I went up this morning, admittedly it was still rather dark, and when I opened the pop-hole the girls were still roosting.

When I peeked in, the first thing I saw was an egg lying on the floor of the coop! Not in the nest box, but directly under a chicken in a pile of poop.

Naturally, when I lifted it out, it had a big smash on the pointy end where it had landed with a thump. Very annoying! It hasn't gone through the membrane at least, so we can eat it, but why on earth would a chicken lay whilst roosting? can I stop her from doing it again or is it just an anomaly? The egg was still warm, so it had been laid when she usually lays, she just hadn't bothered to hop off the perch...

[mullethunter]

There's a blog called Carols Chickens and every so often one of hers lays while still roosting.

[Beantree]

They sometimes lay during the night if disturbed by something. If it happens regularly I'd sprinkle soft sand around the coop to pick up any footprints.

[Hippie Chick]

One of mine (Brunhilde the Bluebelle) did this several times when she started laying. She was a real wild card for the first couple of months, you never knew if she was going to lay when roosting, under the coop, by the feeder, if it would be an egg with a viable shell or a softie, if she'd lay two eggs in one day... she reliably lays perfect eggs now!

 

She managed to lay an egg one day whilst strutting round the garden, just popped out without her noticing, she never broke her stride. It was a shell less egg and one of my dogs got lucky that day - and then spent the next few days following the same chicken to see if it happened again!

[ChickenPoopGarden]

Well, I figured it out. Marshmallow the Silkie, who has been my first and most reliable layer, seems to have taken up residence in the nestbox. I say THE nestbox because although they have two lovely big nestboxes, overflowing with wondrous bedding, they only use one.

Anyway, last night when I went to shut the pop-hole, I decided to check the nestbox because I had seen Marshmallow in there earlier in the afternoon and then hadn't been back to check for an egg. Opened the nest box to find Marshmallow still there! I lifted her to check for an egg but there was nothing there so I plopped her back down. It occurred to me at the time that maybe Splash was smashing her eggs because she couldn't get into the nest box and sure enough, this morning there was her egg, completely exploded on the floor of the coop.

I am a bit gutted because I don't really know what to do! Has Marshmallow gone broody? I'm going to be checking on her today to see if she is in the nestbox - she shouldn't need to be because i collected her egg this morning.

I may also try putting a pottery egg in the other nest box to see if that gives them the idea.

Pah! Chickens are so complicated!!!

[mullethunter]

I'd just lift her out after dark and put her on a perch. If she keeps going back then I'm afraid she is broody!